Not unlike the 2023 “live-action” R-rated talking-dog movie Strays, the animated comedy Fixed is meant to show us the life of dogs from the perspective of said animals, particularly one dog named Bull (voiced by Adam Devine), a mostly good dog who humps granny’s leg one too many times, so his owners decide it’s time to get him neutered. Apparently in the dog community, there are some that believe that being neutered is something to be ashamed of, and our hero is certainly very proud of his balls, so this news drives him to run away from home.
From the mind and animation style of the great director Genndy Tartakovsky (the Hotel Transylvania franchise; Samurai Jack, Powerpuff Girls), Fixed is also very much adult oriented thanks to a litany of bad language and a whole lot of sex talk and grinding, which is to be expected in a film about getting snipped. Bull is in love with his neighbor, a show dog named Honey (Kathryn Hahn), but he can’t bring himself to tell her, believing she is fated to hook up with fellow show champion Sterling (Beck Bennett). Bull tends to hang with his buddies, Rocco (Idris Elba), Fetch (Fred Armisen), and Lucky (Bobby Moynihan), whose owners dress him in tiny human clothes so he sometimes thinks he’s a human. When Bull makes a run for it, his friends eventually follow him and end up saving his life from a vicious attack by a small army of cats.
With most of the film taking place in one 24-hour adventure, Fixed also follows the pack of friends to what I can only describe as a red-light district for dogs, which includes Michelle Buteau as a stripper dog, and intersex actor River Gallo (recently writing and starring in Ponyboi) as an intersex dog for whom one of the dogs falls deeply. I have to give credit to the filmmakers for not only casting Gallo in the role but also treating their character about as respectfully as one could hope in a film with so many immature sex jokes. The film never actually shows the genitals of any of the characters (although Bull’s balls are on full display), which is a blessing. And in an interesting move, they also never show the faces of any human character, underscoring the idea that this is a canine-centered movie focusing on only things at a dog’s eye level.
The jokes are crass and tasteless, but they occasionally land, and that combined with some kooky stylized animation from Tartakovsky’s team, meant I found myself smiling and sometimes chuckling more than laughing out loud. But that does count for something in this strange phase in movies where most comedies land on a streaming platform. Speaking of which…
The film is now streaming on Netflix.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider supporting Third Coast Review’s arts and culture coverage by making a donation. Choose the amount that works best for you, and know it goes directly to support our writers and contributors.
