When Peter Gray last spoke with director Josh Greenbaum it was in conjunction with the trailer release for his foul-mouthed, furry-friended comedy Strays, a subversion of the dog movies we know and love, about the complications of love, the importance of great friendships, and the unexpected virtues of couch humping.
When Reggie (voiced by Will Ferrell), a naïve, relentlessly optimistic Border Terrier, is abandoned on the mean city streets by his lowlife owner, Doug (Will Forte), he is certain that his beloved owner would never leave him on purpose. But once Reggie falls in with a fast-talking, foul-mouthed Boston Terrier named Bug (Jamie Foxx), a stray who loves his freedom and believes that owners are for suckers, Reggie finally realizes he was in a toxic relationship and begins to see Doug for the heartless sleazeball that he is. Determined to seek revenge, Reggie, Bug and Bug’s pals – Maggie (Isla Fisher), a smart Australian Shepherd who has been sidelined by her owner’s new puppy, and Hunter (Randall Park), an anxious Great Dane who’s stressed out by his work as an emotional support animal – hatch a plan and embark on an epic adventure to help Reggie find his way home … and make Doug pay by biting off the appendage he loves the most. (Hint: It’s not his foot)
Now, as the film prepares to be let off its leash for all to enjoy, Greenbaum checked back in to touch on the film’s limits (or lack thereof), his favourite gag, and which of the Strays quartet he most identifies with.
The last time we spoke was when the trailer (for Strays) dropped, and I had to tell you if I related to any of the dogs in the film. I think I’m a little bit of a Hunter.
Me too! I have a little Hunter in me. I’m a little Reggie and a little Hunter.
I think I related to him because it’s one of those things where I went through something and then finally found my voice. So, it was like “F” everybody.
Oh, I love that. I love that. Oh, that’s awesome. That was kind of my hope, too. We talked about it last time. Yes, it’s a movie about dogs and their relationships to humans, for sure, but really I hope you also identify – and people identify – that it’s actually a movie about humans. All four of these characters are going through things that we all go through, and hopefully everyone can come out and be like, “Who are you?”
The toxic relationship side of things in this? The movie went a lot deeper and a lot darker than I was expecting. At the end of the film I was surprised at just what was being shown. But in a film like this, and this pun is unintended, you pretty much have to go balls out!
I think so! And that was part of the appeal. When I read the script for the first time, it didn’t hold back when it could. I would totally respect a film that decided to hold back and I understand why in certain ways, but, you know, without giving anything away, when we go there, we’ve got to go there! And so that was certainly a big component as to what I loved about it.
And without giving anything away, there were certain cameos here that were related to another dog movie, right?..
Yeah
Okay, I knew that had to be what it is! I loved it so much, and it made me think there are so many great little background visual jokes in this movie. The bird boxes in the book, and the fact that one of Will Forte’s moving boxes is “Nonechucks” spelt wrong…
Oh, you picked up on that (laughs)
Is there any little visual joke for you that you were proud to get in the film?
I mean, you hit on maybe one of my favourite jokes in the movies, and it sounds a little terrible because I think I pitched it, so it sounds incredible narcissistic (laughs), but I am very proud of it, regardless of that. But the one that does get me laughing is the bird book. The idea that Dennis Quaid’s book just says bird, bird, bird, bird, and that he filled the book out, right? I like to think about how was this book made? He filled out an entire book with boxes that just says “bird”, and then when he goes to check them off, he doesn’t just check off any box. He finds the box that speaks to him. None of it makes sense. And that’s why I love it. A little kind of absurdism always goes a long way for me.
Yeah, and I think the fact that you have Dennis Quaid saying “Dennis Quaid has seen some shit!” I only recently watched Jaws 3, and I found out that he admitted to being high on cocaine for that entire movie, so, yeah, he has seen some shit! But as I said when I watched the trailer, it took me to places I wasn’t expecting, and the film in general does that, but it also just made me love my dog that much more. I came home and hugged her and just hope she says nice things about me. Congratulations on the film, because you’ve always made incredibly funny films that speak to me, so I’m very happy this one paid off.
That means a lot, thank you. I’m psyched for this one to finally get out there. As you know from Barb and Star (Go To Vista Del Mar), that got “pandemiced”, so here we are on my first kind of film to go out in theatres and be out there in the world. I’m really excited for people to see it, and I hope, if nothing else, that they have a really fun time at the cinemas, hopefully with their pack. I definitely want people to bring their crew, bring their pack, and just have a fun night out.
Strays is now screening in Australian theatres.
