Bingo - the movie
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
A strange film about a dog called Bingo who runs away from the circus after humiliating his cruel owners. Afraid of fire, because of an experience as a puppy which killed his mother, he balks at jumping through a flaming hoop, and is forced to flee the circus as his owners chase him with a shotgun.
As he wanders through the countryside, he discovers an unconscious boy about to drown after a cycling accident. Bingo pulls the boy from the water, checks for a pulse, and performs cardiac massage to resuscitate him. Bingo then erects a washing line, hangs the boy's wet clothes on it, and puts up a tent in which he stays to monitor the boy's progress.
As you can see, the film is very strange. It can't make up its mind whether it wants to ridicule dog films, or be one. The incredible abilities of the dog would seem to mock other "boy and his dog" movies, but the rest of the film obeys cliché.
The boy, Chuckie Devlin, takes Bingo home, but must hide him from his family - namely his mother, uncaring footballer father Hal, and brother with attitude Chickie (groan). When Hal is transferred to a different team, the family moves to the other side of the USA, and leaves Bingo behind (Aw!).
The rest of the film charts Chuckie and Bingo's attempts to find each other. Bingo leaves behind his girlfriend (nextdoor's dog) after a night together in her kennel (he brings a rose and a bottle of wine). The drunken Bingo begins a journey across the United States of America. Along the way he performs many incredible feats and changes people's lives. He frees some other dogs, drives a car, uses a telephone, demonstrates applied knowledge of Morse code, undergoes a nasal transplant with a Doberman's nose, rescues a family of hostages, testifies in a court of law, goes to prison, and performs a successful jail-break.
The sad thing is, of all the people Bingo meets on his travels, only two people genuinely care about him.
1. A kindly prostitute who at one point looks after him, organises bus travel for him to Green Bay, and even gives him a travel parcel with "Good Luck" inscribed on the side, full of dog biscuits and treats.
2. A fellow inmate who organises their escape from prison.
The film ends with the resolution of Bingo's fear of fire - he must jump through fire in order to set off the fire alarm and rescue Chuckie. He then has to run away with a suitcase containing a time bomb in order to save Chuckie's life (again). The film ends with Bingo in hospital surrounded by everyone he met on his great journey, from his dog friends that he rescued to his original owners at the circus. They have all come to wish him well. As he recovers, he learns that he can stay with Chuckie's family.
Although odd, the film is still entertaining, but is marred by weak characterisation. At the beginning of the film, Chuckie's father Hal couldn't care less that his youngest son has been missing OVERNIGHT in a neighbourhood frequented by BEARS, yet at the end of the film appears to care about his son, saying to his wife "HE'S OUR SON!". Also, Chuckie's brother is unbearable. And the police chief who values a bet on a football game more than the life of a child is completely implausible. :-(
But all in all, the film is definitely worth a watch just to see Bingo in action, doing all sorts of ridiculous things (the tent and the Morse code take the biscuit really). The dubbed-on dog noises are funny also, especially in the scene where Bingo waves (yes, waves) goodbye to his new dog friends.
Star watch: The formidable Suzie Plakson:-) as the wife of Bingo's original owner.
Cheese-out factor: 5/5
Aw! factor: 5/5
As he wanders through the countryside, he discovers an unconscious boy about to drown after a cycling accident. Bingo pulls the boy from the water, checks for a pulse, and performs cardiac massage to resuscitate him. Bingo then erects a washing line, hangs the boy's wet clothes on it, and puts up a tent in which he stays to monitor the boy's progress.
As you can see, the film is very strange. It can't make up its mind whether it wants to ridicule dog films, or be one. The incredible abilities of the dog would seem to mock other "boy and his dog" movies, but the rest of the film obeys cliché.
The boy, Chuckie Devlin, takes Bingo home, but must hide him from his family - namely his mother, uncaring footballer father Hal, and brother with attitude Chickie (groan). When Hal is transferred to a different team, the family moves to the other side of the USA, and leaves Bingo behind (Aw!).
The rest of the film charts Chuckie and Bingo's attempts to find each other. Bingo leaves behind his girlfriend (nextdoor's dog) after a night together in her kennel (he brings a rose and a bottle of wine). The drunken Bingo begins a journey across the United States of America. Along the way he performs many incredible feats and changes people's lives. He frees some other dogs, drives a car, uses a telephone, demonstrates applied knowledge of Morse code, undergoes a nasal transplant with a Doberman's nose, rescues a family of hostages, testifies in a court of law, goes to prison, and performs a successful jail-break.
The sad thing is, of all the people Bingo meets on his travels, only two people genuinely care about him.
1. A kindly prostitute who at one point looks after him, organises bus travel for him to Green Bay, and even gives him a travel parcel with "Good Luck" inscribed on the side, full of dog biscuits and treats.
2. A fellow inmate who organises their escape from prison.
The film ends with the resolution of Bingo's fear of fire - he must jump through fire in order to set off the fire alarm and rescue Chuckie. He then has to run away with a suitcase containing a time bomb in order to save Chuckie's life (again). The film ends with Bingo in hospital surrounded by everyone he met on his great journey, from his dog friends that he rescued to his original owners at the circus. They have all come to wish him well. As he recovers, he learns that he can stay with Chuckie's family.
Although odd, the film is still entertaining, but is marred by weak characterisation. At the beginning of the film, Chuckie's father Hal couldn't care less that his youngest son has been missing OVERNIGHT in a neighbourhood frequented by BEARS, yet at the end of the film appears to care about his son, saying to his wife "HE'S OUR SON!". Also, Chuckie's brother is unbearable. And the police chief who values a bet on a football game more than the life of a child is completely implausible. :-(
But all in all, the film is definitely worth a watch just to see Bingo in action, doing all sorts of ridiculous things (the tent and the Morse code take the biscuit really). The dubbed-on dog noises are funny also, especially in the scene where Bingo waves (yes, waves) goodbye to his new dog friends.
Star watch: The formidable Suzie Plakson:-) as the wife of Bingo's original owner.
Cheese-out factor: 5/5
Aw! factor: 5/5
