Review: No new tricks in 'Old Dogs'

"Old Dogs" is a nice bowl of family mush aimed at the faces of holiday family audiences, who will likely eat it up.

It's pretty much a one-joke movie, that joke being about dads in their 50s with young kids. And it plays out more as a series of skits with guest stars than an actual cohesive film.

The dad in question is cautious Dan (Robin Williams), longtime best buddy of rambunctious Charlie (John Travolta). Together they run a sports marketing agency. Charlie hits on much younger women, Dan dwells on his long-ago divorce followed by another short-lived marriage.

The surprise products of that quickie bond suddenly show up one day, being the 7-year-old son (Conner Rayburn) and daughter (Ella Bleu Travolta, daughter of John) of Dan's one-night romance with Vicki (Kelly Preston, Travolta's wife, which makes this quite the family affair).

Vicki's going to jail briefly for some environmental activism and suddenly Dan is instant father and babysitter, with Charlie as favorite uncle. Cue the madcap mishaps.

There's much frivolity about incontinence when Charlie gets a glass of water dropped in his lap at a restaurant. Much aching and crackling of joints when the fellows take the kids to a camp-out and play Ultimate Frisbee against tough guys Justin Long and Matt Dillon.

There's tearfulness when repressed Dan, being electronically controlled by puppeteer Bernie Mac (that shows you how long ago this film was shot), has a royal tea party with his daughter. And there are athlete cameos when the gang goes to watch the Mets play (guess they couldn't afford the Yankees).

The whackiness crescendos somehow with Seth Green, playing a too-eager assistant, ending up in the arms of a gorilla, and Dan crashing down from the sky onto his kids' birthday party.

Is any of it believable for even one moment? Of course not. Do some of the jokes work? Sure. Does director Walt Becker offer up the same easy-Disney, warm-hearted, mindless tone he hit with "Wild Hogs"? You bet.

"Old Dogs" isn't good, but with its PG rating it will draw the family crowd. Even old dads with young kids. Insert incontinence joke here.

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