Oh! Heavenly Dog

I love those what the f*ck were they thinking kids movies. The kind of family film that either gives children horrible nightmares or has parents covering their kids eyes and ears as they shuffle them towards the exit. One of the horribly great ones from my youth was 1980's Oh! Heavenly Dog.

Animal trainer Joe Camp hit the jackpot with his G rated, very youth oriented series of Benji films that featured his adorable pooch. Wanting to attract a wider, and more adult audience, Camp had the less than brillaint idea to team Benji up with comedy star Chevy Chase. The end result was the oddest film of the Benji franchise.

Chase stars as Browning, an American private investigator in London. While on a case, Browning is murdered and is sent to a waystation between heaven and hell. Unable to decide on where he belongs, Browning is sent back to Earth in the form of Benji to solve his murder and finish his investigation.

Being a cute canine hasn't made Browning change his ways. He goes sniffing around a key figure in his murder case, the beautiful Jackie, Jane Seymour. He even joins her for a bubblebath. But in his canine form Browning definately has obsticles with the lady and wrapping up his investigation.

Murder, swear words, slurs against homosexuals, sexual inneundo and hints of beastiality, Oh! Heavenly Dog is chock full of family values. Seriously though, this is one messed up movie. I'm not really sure who Camp was intending as his audience. Maybe guys like me who love bizarre cinema.

Chase does his usual schtick. Most of his role is off camera as he narrates Benji's thoughts. Chase has stated that this is his worst movie. The rest of the cast, which includes Robert Morley, Alan Sues, and Omar Sharif, are all pretty good. I have no idea how they got Sharif to appear in this. Benji was supposedly scared of him because of his intensity. As great as the supporting cast is, this is a Benji picture. And as always he is amazing to watch.

This is one of those family films that's not really for the family, but kind of fun to watch in a "how did this get made" kind of way.

It's out of print on dvd.