Year of the Dog

Molly Shannon gives an endearingly engaging performance in this moving and poignant character study. She plays a lonely secretary who becomes an animal activist after the death of her beloved pooch. Her new passion to save critters borders on obsession and begins to impact her relationships with family, friends and coworkers. Laura Dern is fun as Shannon's supermom sister-in-law. Written and directed by Mike White, who also wrote the scripts for "School of Rock" and "Nacho Libre."