Product Details

• Actors: Wendy Adams, Randy Becker, Martha J. Cooney, Darren Dryden, Ty-Ranne Grimstad
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Miramax
• DVD Release Date: July 1, 2003
• Run Time: 84 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00008L3RW
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #86,307 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Lie Down With Dogs" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This low-budget independent feature from 1995 is notable for its whimsical lack of substance and its self-effacing sense of humor. Writer-director Wally White plays Tommy, a gay man from New York City who flees the urban crush for the promise of an idyllic summer in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Working as a houseboy, Tommy encounters various characters as he navigates the seemingly carefree gay community, leading a Candide-like existence, betrayed by employers and friends alike, and always coming up short in friendship and in love. Randy Becker (Love! Valour! Compassion!) plays a con artist who takes advantage of the good-natured Tommy, and Darren Dryden plays the shallow and unattainable object of Tommy's affection. While the film, White's feature debut, is short on meaning or resonance, the vignette feel of the story allows for a few choice comic moments. The film is surprisingly well made for a low-budget effort. All in all, Lie Down with Dogs is an offbeat diversion and a slice of life not often seen on the screen. --Robert Lane

Product Description

Here's the outrageous, good-time comedy for anyone who's ever wanted to get away from it all and have some fun! Tommie's a recent college graduate who's broke and fed up with life in Manhattan. But when Tommie, who's gay, decides to drop everything and head for the ultimate seaside party town -- he finally starts to bust loose! For one wild and glorious summer in the sun, Tommie finds exactly what he needs in this fun-loving beach resort: love, friendship ... and a chance to party down! Widely acclaimed by critics for its fresh and wickedly funny humor, LIE DOWN WITH DOGS is a high-spirited comedy that's sure to make everyone laugh!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Unintentional Horror Film, December 31, 1999

By	Edward Aycock (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Lie Down With Dogs [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is, quite simply, one of the most shallow, pathetic and depressing films I have ever seen. What's even worse, it operates under the guise of a fun beach movie. Granted, I may be gay but am not one of those club going, circuit party, drinking guys who seem to drift through life in pursuit of good clothes and sharp wisecracks, and watching this film makes me even more secure in who I am. First off, this was filmed during off-season apparently, which gives Provincetown the look of a ghost town. One expects to see tumbleweed drifting through the streets in the establishing shots. Secondly, the poor misguided hero leaves New York because he is sick of it and the people (at least, that is what I can gather from the badly acted prologue...the friends the hero wants to get away from seem to have stepped out of a gay Fellini film...one without subtitles) So, our plucky hero goes to Provincetown, and instead of convincing us how wonderful it is, we come away with a bad taste in our mouths. One of his new best friends is an alcoholic who does not help him when he is sick, we are supposed to root for our hero at the end when the guy he likes ends up going with another man, and then we have the Randy Becker character who is a dangerous combination of pulchritude and stupidity (but then after watching this film, it begs the question...are brains and beauty mutually exclusive?) The worst thing about this film, besides the shallowness and charisma factors of zero in just about every character is how genuinely unfunny it is. Jokes fall flat...and if we are supposed to think jokes about older men (i.e. responsible) in AA are funny, then I suggest you check this film out. Me? I tend not to. I much prefer Boys in the Band, which, despite all its hard knocks seems to be more universally reviled due to its truthfulness. Lie down with Dogs is not a great, liberating film. It is shallow, it is unfunny, and it is best forgotten. And good riddance.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars FLEA-BITTEN, July 20, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Lie Down With Dogs [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is the gay filmmaking at it's shabbiest and most incompetent. Every moment of this film is a nightmare of mind and nerves. I was unable to watch more than fifteen minutes at a time--I was so stupified that I had to take breaks. The only redeeming quality of this film is that it's easy to point out who's responsibe for this atrocity: Wally White. He not only stars in this film, but he wrote, directed, and produced. Appearantly, the only thing he didn't do was cater and pour coffee. That's a blessing, cause if he did that as badly as he did the rest, everyone else in this film would have gotten food poisoning. The "story" is about a young gay man from NYC who goes to Provincetown, MA looking for romance and happiness. White plays the hero, and gives a truly annoying performance. His obvious belief that he's an attractive and compelling presence makes it even worse. With his whiny, grating voice, bulging belly, and embarrassing dialogue, he has the romantic charisma of Gilbert Gottfried and the sex appeal of Barney the Dinosaur. It's no wonder that he can't find romance in NYC, and when he gets propositioned by a hot gym buff, it's like watching science fiction. He looks for work as a houseboy, and stumbles in and out of yawn-raising misadventures. You won't care. Everything else about this film is also awful. While the setting (Provincetown) is a beautiful, lively place in real life, it's photographed so badly that you'll think it's a coastal slum. The sound is poor and scratchy, and the co-stars behave like relatives in someone else's home movie. Also, the choppy editing causes lapses in coherance. But none of that takes away from White's irritating screen presence, and his determination to be the center of attention. Even during quiet and sentimental scenes, he tries so hard to upstage everyone else, he treats his co-stars like boxing opponents. And when he does close-up monologues with the camera, you'll wish you had darts at your disposal. I don't know what Wally White has done since making this film. Hopefully he holds down a job that has nothing to do with making movies.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Title Says it All..., January 18, 2004

By	Hank Drake (Cleveland, OH United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Lie Down with Dogs ran through the independent film circuit in 1995, and was forgotten as soon as the run was over, with good reason.

The plot centers around a shallow, self-centered gay man who can't handle the pressure of summer in New York, and decides on a whim to spend the summer in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

First of all, this film is not an honest portrayal of Provincetown--except for during the last reel when the main character, Tommy, takes a bike tour through the nature trails with Ben--who appears to be the only decent guy in town. In reality, Provincetown is much more idyllic than is shown here-and there are lots of nice, genuine people there. Not that the town doesn't party hearty, but that's far from the only reason gays & lesbians choose this as a prime vacation spot. (The town's extensive history as an artist's colony isn't even mentioned.) Matters are not helped by the fact that the film, which takes place during the summer, was shot in the off-season when the streets were nearly empty.

Second, the movie is a slanderous portrayal of gay life. In one monologue, White belittles Longtime Companion, but that film is far more realistic, moving, and does greater service to the gay community.

Wally White is obviously the primary force behind this film, since he's listed as producer, writer, director, and lead actor. So the blame for this drivel falls entirely on his shoulders. As producer, it's astonishing he was able to secure funding for his poorly written tripe. As director, he can't handle a camera, nor does he have an eye for cinematography--Provincetown looks better in the photos I took during a trip there. As actor, he gives the worst performance in the film. It says something about the overall quality of this film that, with the exception of Randy Becker (who was already an established stage actor by the time this film was released) none of the other principals has been heard from since--including Wally White.

I can't help the feeling that Wally White's primary motivation in making this film was to act out love scenes with numerous good looking guys who would be out of his league in real life.

Two stars due to the fact that this movie at least inspired me to visit the real Provincetown.