Rarely does one come across a film so deeply affecting and as savagely honest as ""Firehouse Dog."" This children's film is ostensibly about a pampered celebrity pooch who escapes death to remind an unhappy firehouse captain and his trouble-making son about the importance of family, but ""Firehouse Dog"" is about so much more. It is about the importance of family, the importance of civic duty in American life and—most importantly—it's about the stuff that true heroes are made of, whether they have two—or four—legs.
The film starts out with Rexxx, a star of such Hollywood blockbusters as ""The Fast and the Furriest"" and ""Jurassic Bark,"" shooting a parachuting scene for his latest film. The drop goes horribly wrong, however, and his owners and adoring public assume him to be dead after a massive dog hunt proves fruitless. Rexxx, however, has survived, roaming the mean city streets as a modern day Chaplin, looking for a home and bemoaning the loss of his love Lola, who left him for a bigger mutt. Arwen, Rohan, Frodo and Stryder combine their souls and talent and come out with a triumphant performance as Rexxx. They make us feel the emptiness at the bottom of his stomach, the depressed longing in his eyes and the hope he carries for salvation.
Salvation soon arrives in the form of Shane Fahey (Josh Hutcherson, veteran of such modern classics as ""Kicking & Screaming"" and ""Zathura: A Space Adventure""), a ne'er-do-well preteen reeling from the loss of his mother and the harsh critiques of his father, Firefighter Captain Connor Fahey (Bruce Greenwood).
His father vents much of his frustration on his son, because he just can't seem to get his rag-tag group of misfits to any fire on time—only Pep Clemente, the sassy firefighting vixen who can still punch and fight fire with the best of the boys, seems to know what she's doing.
When Shane and Rexxx meet, it becomes clear both of these lost souls hold the map to each other's salvation. But will they accept this, allowing each other into their hearts? Tensions are high in the first half of the movie, with Shane repeatedly demeaning Rexxx with pejorative, anti-caninetic terms and Rexxx constantly farting in Shane's bed. It seems the two will never get along until Rexxx wows Shane with his skateboard tricks. Soon, Shane begins to realize it is only through this mangy mutt that he, the firehouse and his family can find wholeness and salvation.
Before long, Rexxx has become a local icon, a symbol of tenacity and selflessness. He inspires the lackadaisical firefighters to douse infernos seemingly unquenchable and to find the inner heroes that were inside all along. All this publicity gathers the attention of Rexxx's rightful owners, who arrive to tempt him back into the celebrity life with a harem of exotic-colored poodles. In a fist-pumping, heartwarming moment, we realize Rexxx knows the importance of putting family before his dick as he runs away from his owners to rejoin the firehouse.
It would be a shame, though, to view ""Firehouse Dog"" as a simple lesson in heroics and what it means to be a family, though: This film is about what it means to be an American in troubled times. Beset by the flames of terrorism on all sides, ""Firehouse Dog"" tells us that we must do everything we can to stay united in the face of a faceless enemy that springs up without warning. Whether that means taking up the firehose or taking a leak, we must douse the flames of intolerance, confusion and evil in this world. This film is as human as they come.
