Old Dogs is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Walt Becker and starring John Travolta and Robin Williams as two businessman named Charlie (Williams) and Dan (Travolta), dealing with Dan's two children from his short-lived marriage to Vicki (Kelly Preston), Emily and Zach. Dan and Charlie try to take care of the kids while she goes to prison, while simultaneously preparing for the biggest business deal of their career.
The film also stars Seth Green, Lori Loughlin, Bernie Mac, and Matt Dillon.
It was released on November 25, 2009.
Tropes for the film:
- Accidental Marriage: Dan and Vicki got married while they were both drunk and managed to get the marriage annulled. However, it later turned out that it resulted in them having twins.
- Big Eater: Charlie turns into one after taking the wrong pills.
- Frozen Face: Due to a mixup of pills, Charlie ends up having his face freezing at times while trying to flirt with Amanda, a Love Interest of his. And by the end, the whole family has this due to another mixup.
- The "Fun" in "Funeral": At a funeral for Amanda's relative, she is making a eulogy, but she sees Charlie (whose frozen face is currently in a comical grin). She furiously asks him if he finds this funny, which causes the other offended guests to stare at him.
- Here We Go Again!: At the end of the movie, the child-proofers return to childproof Charlie's boat. While inspecting the medicine cabinet, they accidentally knock out the pills and rearrange them, causing the pills to (once again) get messed up.
- Hilarity in Zoos: To get to Emily & Zach's birthday party, Dan, Charlie and Craig break into a zoo and encounter an aggressive gorilla and a flock of even more aggressive penguins.
- Hyperventilation Bag: Dan does this when he finds out that not only is he the father to a pair of twins, but he also has to take care of them for a couple of weeks.
- Jet Pack: Vicki has hired a stuntman to fly into Emily's birthday party dressed as a superhero because Emily wanted a superhero at her party. Dan, in an attempt to get to the party, bribes the stuntman, takes the jetpack, and flies in there himself.
- Killer Gorilla: When they break into the zoo, Charile, Dan and Craig end up in the habitat of a large silverback gorilla. Dan believes he should act aggressive toward the gorilla to intimidate it - which, instead, enrages the ape that charges at the three men.
- Killer Rabbit: Escaping from the gorilla, Dan and Charlie end up in the penguin habitat - which, despite their cute look, are even more dangerous than the gorilla, swarming and pecking at Charlie.
- Mistaken for Gay: The head counselor at the twins' camp seems to believe that Charlie and Dan are a homosexual couple, given that they're taking care of two children together and seem rather close.
- People Puppets: To help Dan communicate with Emily, Charlie enlists his friend, a children's entertainer named Jimmy Lunchbox, to use his motion capture suit so than Charlie can control Dan's body movements. Unfortunately, the suits get broken, causing chaos.
- Side Effects Include...: Dan and Charlie have several pills in their medicine cabinet, with various side effects, including uncontrollable smiling, amplified hunger, and distorted vision. When the kids get in the medicine cabinet, they accidentally knock over the pills and spill them all over the counter. Instead of calling for help, they decide to put them back in the correct containers from what they remember. Charlie and Dan consequently take the wrong pills, and chaos ensues.
- Sink or Swim Fatherhood: Dan discovers that his short marriage resulted in twins when his ex-wife dumps them on his doorstep and asks to take care of them while she faces jail time for an environmental protest.
- What Did I Do Last Night?: The previously mentioned short marriage happened while they both were drunk as Dan was dealing with a divorce.
