Dog Lover's Symphony

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Dog Lover's Symphony
Dog Lover's Symphony movie poster.jpg
Directed byTed Fukuda
Written byTed Fukuda
Produced byMike Yamamoto
StarringJesse Bernstein
Alaina Huffman
CinematographyJeffrey R. Clark
Edited byBob Joyce
Music byJeff Marsh
Release date
  • 2006 (2006)
Running time
103 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2,968 [1]

Dog Lover's Symphony is a 2006 drama directed by Ted Fukuda. The movie follows Jerry (Jesse Bernstein [a] ), a recovering drug addict who finds work at a local dog training school, and Susan (Alaina Huffman [b] ), an employee at the school. A dog named Toby (voiced by Bryce Papenbrook) provides sporadic narration throughout the movie.

Contents

Dog Lover's Symphony received extremely negative reviews.

Plot

Jerry is a recovering drug addict and ex-gang member. Through the help of his lawyer Tom, Jerry is placed in housing, but he struggles to find work.

Tom's daughter Susan takes an interest in Jerry. She works at a dog training school and encourages Jerry to become a dog trainer. He reluctantly agrees. The two bond while training a dog named Toby and develop a romantic attraction.

Susan, however, is engaged to John, who is suspicious of Jerry. John eventually reveals that he is marrying Susan to secure a business deal.

In addition, Jerry is falsely accused of stealing a purse at the school, and he quits in protest. Meanwhile, Susan realizes she knew Jerry in high school. Susan leaves John and Jerry proposes to Susan with an airplane banner. Jerry also reveals he has an estranged father who lives in Japan.

En route to graduation day at the dog training school, Jerry is mortally injured in a car crash. Susan rushes from her wedding dress fitting to the hospital, where Jerry dies.

Susan moves forward with the wedding despite Jerry's demise, contracting a computer graphics expert to project a digital recreation of Jerry during the ceremony. During the wedding, the projection of Jerry transforms into a physical but speechless "real Jerry". Susan and the corporealized Jerry complete the ceremony and are married before Jerry vanishes again. After the ceremony, Jerry's father offers Susan a check for $10,000,000, which she refuses.

Years later, Susan still lives alone with multiple dogs descended from Toby. Her ex-fiancé John has now married her best friend Kelly, and her father Tom reveals he accepted the $10,000,000 check and invested it. Susan uses the money to build dog shelters in Jerry's name. Jerry and Toby look down from heaven.

Cast

Reception

Dog Lover's Symphony received harsh reviews on release. In one review, the Los Angeles Times described it as a "stinker" and in another review said it was "off on all fronts." [2] [3] LA Weekly attacked it as a "toxic combination of obvious bromides and talentless filmmaking." [4] Variety was no more positive, calling it a "slobbery mess" and a source of "accidental hilarity." [5]

Notes

  1. Credited as Jesse Berns
  2. Credited as Alaina Kalanj

References

  1. "Dog Lover's Symphony". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  2. Olsen, Mark (June 16, 2006). "A Discordant 'Dog Lover's'". LA Times . Retrieved April 1, 2025.
  3. "Also in theaters: Dog Lover's Symphony". Los Angeles Times. June 25, 2006. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  4. Grierson, Tim. "Dog Lover's Symphony Review". LA Weekly . Archived from the original on December 13, 2006. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
  5. Debruge, Peter. "Dog Lover's Symphony". Variety . Retrieved April 1, 2025.