Dating in the 21st century is wild. Like most things, there are apps for it. The only problem is that social media is notorious for allowing people to craft representations of themselves that may or may not be entirely accurate to who they really are offline. In Viljar Bøe’s latest film Good Boy, a young woman named Sigrid finds herself conflicted after she meets a shy, handsome multimillionaire named Christian (Gard Løkke) on Tinder. The two instantly hit it off (though there are quite a few red flags from the start) and spend a romantic evening together. But in the morning, Sigrid learns that Christian’s “dog” Frank is actually not a dog at all, but a man (Nicolai Narvesen Lied) dressed in a dog costume. Enticed by the possibility of marrying a millionaire (and most likely signing an ironclad prenup), Sigrid goes against her better judgement and tries to overlook Christian and Frank’s unique living arrangement, but she quickly realizes her new beau’s faithful pooch might not be as well-trained as she thought.
If you’ve recently read about the Japanese man who spent $20 grand on a custom-made dog costume for himself so that he could finally fulfill his desire to become a dog, then the plot of Good Boy might feel familiar. Like this popular news story, the film draws its viewers in with the promise of an eccentric narrative, but that alone isn’t enough to make audiences keep watching. To do that, Bøe expertly leans into the slow burn, keeping us on the edge of our seats as we try to suss out just what exactly is going on between Christian and his puppy companion. Løkke is believable as a beautiful loner with a whole lot of money to his name (his parents passed away when he was young and left him everything), occupying that delicious sweet spot between charisma and insanity. Much of his character feels akin to Christian Bale’s Patrick Bateman in American Psycho or that one guy on TikTok who works out a whole lot and irons his bed after making it every morning. You just know these dudes might have weird skeletons hanging amongst their designer suits.
In fact, Løkke is so successful in his portrayal of Christian that it’s easy to buy into his calculated presentation. Sigrid’s pull towards the millionaire always feels understandable even when it’s very obvious she should be running in the opposite direction. Still, if you allow yourself to get too caught up in the details of Good Boy, you may feel frustrated with the decisions made by the characters. Like many horror films, the movie forgoes common sense in favor of moving the plot along, so a good deal of suspended disbelief is required. But if you can manage to overlook some of the more ridiculous inconsistencies and decisions, you will find yourself having a pretty damn good time.
The place where Good Boy falters most though is in its final 20 minutes. A film with such a unique plot deserves an absolutely unhinged ending, but unfortunately the final act feels slightly phoned in. None of the actors seem particularly engaged with the script’s turn of events, and what is supposed to be shocking actually just comes off as lazy writing. This is a shame since the first two thirds of the film built up the potential for an ending that both shocks and satisfies its audience. What we get instead is what feels like the easy way out. Nevertheless, the film is still worth a watch if you’re into psychological horror, and it’s sure to become a much-barked about film.
Photo courtesy of Saban Films
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