''Unleashed'' is a 2016 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

film written and directed by

Finn Taylor Finn W. Taylor (born July 4, 1958) is an American film writer and director. Background Taylor was born in Oakland, California, and lived in Norway for a few years in his childhood. He attended the University of Montana and later San Francisco ...

and starring

Kate Micucci Kate Micucci ( ; born March 31, 1980) is an American actress, comedian, and musician who is half of the musical comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates with Riki Lindhome. Some of her roles include Stephanie Gooch in '' Scrubs'', Ally in '' 'Til Death' ...

Justin Chatwin Justin Chatwin (born October 31, 1982) is a Canadian actor. He began his career in 2001 with a brief appearance in the musical comedy '' Josie and the Pussycats''. Following his breakthrough role as Robbie Ferrier in the blockbuster '' War of the ...

, Steve Howey,

Sean Astin Sean Patrick Astin (; born February 25, 1971) is an American actor. His acting roles include Mikey Walsh in '' The Goonies'' (1985), Billy Tepper in '' Toy Soldiers'' (1991), Dave Morgan in '' Encino Man'' (1992), Daniel Ruettiger in '' Rudy'' ...

, and

Hana Mae Lee Hana Mae Lee (born September 28, 1988) is an American actress, model, comedian, and fashion designer. She portrayed Lilly Onakurama in the musical comedy ''Pitch Perfect'' film series (2012–2017) and Sonya in the horror comedy film '' The Baby ...

Synopsis

When a cosmic event turns Emma's dog Summit and cat Ajax into two perfect guys, Emma reconsiders her outlook on dating, hilariously works out her trust issues, and ultimately learns to love herself.

Cast

as Emma *

as Diego / Ajax * Steve Howey as Sam / Summit *

as Carl *

as Nina *

Josh Brener Josh Brener (born October 1, 1984) is an American actor. He played the roles of Kyle on the IFC series ''Maron'', Nelson "Big Head" Bighetti on the HBO series ''Silicon Valley'', and Alan Zweibel in the film '' Saturday Night''. In animation, ...

as Luke *

Illeana Douglas Illeana Hesselberg ( ; born July 25, 1961), known professionally as Illeana Douglas, is an American actress and filmmaker. She appeared in three episodes of '' Six Feet Under'', for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination as Outsta ...

as Monty *

Kathy Garver Kathy Garver (born Kathleen Marie Garver; December 13, 1945) is an American actress most remembered for having portrayed the teenaged orphan, Catherine "Cissy" Davis, on the popular 1960s CBS sitcom ''Family Affair''. Before that, she was cast ...

as Jean *

Scott Coffey Scott Coffey (born Thomas Scott Coffey; May 1, 1964) is an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. His film credits include ''Shag'', '' Some Kind of Wonderful'', ''Dream Lover'', and ''Mulholland Drive''. He directed the films '' E ...

as Leather Dude

Production

On June 4, 2015, it was announced

, and Steve Howey signed on for the film. Three weeks later, it was announced

, and

joined the cast of the film.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

began on June 30, 2015, in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Release

The film had its world premiere at the

Mill Valley Film Festival The Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF) is an annual film festival organized by the California Film Institute. It takes place each October in Mill Valley, California, and welcomes more than 200 filmmakers, representing more than 50 countries, each ...

on October 12, 2016. Level 33 Entertainment acquired the domestic distribution rights and released the film on August 25, 2017, in select theaters and through

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...

Reception

''Unleashed'' received positive reviews from critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an 75% rating, based on 8 reviews, with an approval rating of 5/10.

Frank Scheck Frank Scheck is an American film critic. He is best known for his reviews in the ''New York Post'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter''. He formerly edited ''STAGES Magazine'' and worked as a theater critic for the ''Christian Science Monitor ''Th ...

of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' gave the film a positive review writing: "Although it never quite lives up to the satirical possibilities of its high-concept premise, ''Unleashed'' delivers some mildly enjoyable laughs thanks to its engaging female lead and the exuberantly physical performances of her co-stars." Barbara Shulgasser-Parker of ''

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

'' rated the film three stars out of five, saying that cast are "greatest charm of the frothy tale lies in its key performances." She, however, also said that the film's plot "biggest problem" is that "juggling her fun interactions with the vivid, outsized personalities of the pets-come-to-human-life against Emma's growing friendship with the steady, less colorful Carl, who watches longingly from the sidelines as the hunky dog-man and the intriguing cat-man 'woo' her." She noted that Kate Micucci's performance called her "sparkle recalls spritely comic actresses of the past," while Illeana Douglas' "resemblance" points out that she is "uncanny, so it's a surprise when Douglas actually shows up in a small role as Emma's boss." ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

Katie Walsh called the film "the most undeniably goofy premise comes along," with actors Chatwin and Howey are "the most valuable players, giving truly inspired physical performances." She also saw that "Micucci's wide-eyed wonder and credulity are indispensable ingredients as well." In conclusion, the film "comes from a wacky, but sincere place, and the stars in Micucci's eyes seem to be contagious."

References

External links

Official website
Archive fro
the original
on February 19, 2019
''Unleashed'' (2016)
- Family Central ( Valleyarm) -

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

* 2016 films 2016 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language romantic comedy films {{2010s-romantic-comedy-film-stub