''Fluke'' is a 1995 American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film directed by

Carlo Carlei Carlo Carlei (born 16 April 1960 in Nicastro) is an Italian film director. He has directed the English-language films '' Fluke'' (1995) and '' Romeo & Juliet'' (2013), as wall as the Italian television film '' Padre Pio: Miracle Man'' (2000). B ...

from a screenplay by Carlei and James Carrington, based on the 1977 novel of the same name by

James Herbert James John Herbert, OBE (8 April 1943 – 20 March 2013) was an English horror writer. A full-time writer, he also designed his own book covers and publicity. His books have sold 54 million copies worldwide, and have been translated into 34 la ...

. It stars

Matthew Modine Matthew Avery Modine (born March 22, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He shared the Venice Film Festival‘s Volpi Cup for Best Actor as part of the ensemble cast of Robert Altman film ''Streamers'' (1983). He went on to play lead rol ...

as a self-centered businessman who is reincarnated as a dog and attempts to reconnect with his family.

Nancy Travis Nancy Ann Travis (born September 21, 1961) is an American actress. She began her career on Off-Broadway theater, before her first leading screen role in the ABC television miniseries ''Harem'' opposite Omar Sharif. Her breakthrough came in 1987, ...

Eric Stoltz Eric Cameron Stoltz (born September 30, 1961) is an American actor, director and producer. He played Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film ''Mask'' (1985), which earned him the nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting ...

Jon Polito Jon Raymond Polito (December 29, 1950 – September 1, 2016) was an American actor. In a film and television career spanning 35 years, he amassed over 220 credits. His television roles included Detective Steve Crosetti in the first two seasons ...

, Max Pomeranc, and Samuel L. Jackson appear in supporting roles. The film was theatrically released in the United States on June 2, 1995, by MGM/UA Distribution Co. It received negative to mixed reviews from critics and underperformed at the box office, grossing only $3.9 million. At the

22nd Saturn Awards The 22nd Saturn Awards, honoring the best in science fiction, fantasy and horror film and television in 1995, were held on June 25, 1996.Best Fantasy Film and Best Performance by a Younger Actor for Pomeranc.

Plot

A mutt puppy who has flashing memories and dreams of having lived a human life is taken to a pound and eventually escapes. He is raised by an elderly homeless woman named Bella, who gives him the name Fluke, stating that he is a "fluke by nature, Fluke by name." Fluke supports Bella by helping her earn money from passing strangers, who are impressed with Fluke's ability to beat Bella's

shell game The shell game (also known as thimblerig, three shells and a pea, the old army game) is a public gambling game that challenges players to follow the movement of a marker hidden under one of several covers (shells). In practice, the game is almo ...

. After Bella dies of an illness, Fluke meets a street-wise dog named Rumbo who takes him to see a man named Bert who feeds them. Fluke matures into an adult dog and eventually realizes that he was once a man named Thomas P. Johnson, who died in a

car crash A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...

. Fluke is abducted by a man named Sylvester to be used in makeup experiments at a

cosmetics Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either Natural product, natural source ...

company. During his captivity, Rumbo comes to the rescue, but is shot by Sylvester as he and Fluke escape. A dying Rumbo tells Fluke that the black-and-white snapshot of a man in a sailor suit on Bert's wall was him and Bert was his brother and that he wishes to smell the sea again, suggesting that he died in the line of duty. After Rumbo's death, Fluke seeks out his surviving wife Carol and son Brian and reunites with them by becoming their new family dog. Though Carol is apprehensive about adopting Fluke, she caves in, seeing how Brian has quickly bonded with Fluke. During his life as a dog, Fluke gets to know his family better and realizes that he had been a distant workaholic. As more memories return, Fluke suspects that his human death was caused by his former business partner, Jeff Newman. Enraged by this and that Jeff is now dating Carol, Fluke viciously attacks him when he visits the house, and ends up getting put outside. Jeff calls for Animal Control against the protests of Brian, and Fluke is forced to run from the premises. The next night, Brian goes missing while looking for Fluke and Carol implores Jeff to help, so Jeff drives back to their house. Fluke, hiding in the backseat of Jeff's car, comes close to killing Jeff by causing him to get into a car accident like his own. Fluke then has another flashback and realizes that Jeff wasn't responsible for his death. Instead, Fluke had caused his own death when he recklessly drove on the wrong side of the road just to argue with Jeff one night and swerved off to avoid hitting an oncoming truck. Jeff then tried to save him, but failed. An injured Jeff, implied to have realized Fluke's true identity but bearing no ill will, tells Fluke to go find Brian before the latter catches hypothermia from the falling snow. Regretful over his actions, Fluke barks for a passing driver to help Jeff before running off. On a hunch, Fluke goes to the graveyard where he had been buried and finds Brian there, who had been locked in by an unaware groundskeeper. Fluke huddles with Brian to keep him warm. Carol, deducing from one of Brian's drawings where he may have gone, uses her car to break open the cemetery gates and picks up Brian. Carol tries to coax Fluke to come home with them. Instead, Fluke digs away at the snow in front of his tombstone to show Carol who he really is by uncovering the word "forever" at the bottom, a phrase he often said to her as a human. Carol is left speechless, and lets Fluke leave without objection. With a heavy heart, Fluke departs and entrusts his family to Jeff for their happiness. He monologues that he finally accepted that he can no longer be the family man he should have been, and that he should just cherish the life he has now. Sometime later, Fluke is resting under a tree on a farm by himself. To his surprise and happiness, he is reunited with Rumbo, now reincarnated as a

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrel ...

. Rumbo tells Fluke about life as a squirrel and about reincarnation.

Cast

* Comet as Fluke, a dog that was reincarnated after a businessman's death *

as Thomas P. Johnson, a workaholic, Jeff's best friend, Carol's husband, and Brian's father. As Fluke the dog, his struggle to return to his former human life ultimately teaches him the importance of moving on *

as Carol Johnson, Thomas's wife, Brian's mother. Throughout the movie, she's shown to be not fond of dogs and is even borderline hostile towards Fluke. By the end of the movie, she is implied to have increased empathy for animals after realizing Fluke's true identity * Max Pomeranc as Brian Johnson, Thomas and Carol's son. Despite Thomas's workaholic ways, Brian remembers his dad fondly, and is shown to miss him dearly *

as Jeff Newman, Thomas's best friend. In the years since Thomas's death, he has begun to fill the void Thomas left behind *

Bill Cobbs Wilbert Alexander Cobbs (June 16, 1934 – June 25, 2024) was an American actor, known for such film roles as Louisiana Slim in '' The Hitter'' (1979), Walter in '' The Brother from Another Planet'' (1984), Reginald in ''Night at the Museum' ...

as Bert *

Ron Perlman Ronald N. Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in ''Quest for Fire (film), Quest for Fire'' (1981), Salvatore in ''The Name of the Rose (film), The Name of the Rose'' (1986), Vincent in th ...

as Sylvester *

as Boss * Collin Wilcox Paxton as Bella, a kindly old homeless lady who cares for Fluke for some time until her death *

Georgia Allen Georgia Williams Allen (May 12, 1919 – January 11, 2014) was an American actress. She was active from 1949 to 2006, beginning in local theater before progressing to both television and movie roles. Early life Allen was born in Beaumont, Texas ...

as Rose, a cleaning lady

Voices

as Fluke ** Sam Gifaldi as Young Fluke * Samuel L. Jackson as Rumbo, Fluke's best friend

Production

Italian filmmaker Carlo Carlei wrote the adaptation of James Herbert's '' Fluke'' with co-writer James Carrington with the intention of getting the film greenlit at a major Hollywood studio. Carlei had come close to getting the film greenlit at

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

for producer Fred Roos, but the departure of

Sid Ganis Sidney (Sid) Ganis (born January 8, 1940) is an American motion picture executive and producer who has produced such films as '' Big Daddy'', '' Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo'', '' Mr. Deeds'', '' The Master of Disguise'' and '' Akeelah and the Bee, ...

as the studio's Head of Production derailed development. Then

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

co-chairman and chief executive officer

Alan Ladd Jr. Alan Walbridge Ladd Jr. (October 22, 1937 – March 2, 2022) was an American film industry executive and producer. He was president of 20th Century Fox from 1976 to 1979, during which he approved the production of ''Star Wars'', on his confidence ...

upon screening Carlei's '' Flight of the Innocent'' was impressed enough where Ladd acquired ''Flight of the Innocent'' for U.S. distribution and signed Carlei to a one-picture deal with ''Fluke'' being greenlit. The film was shot in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

for twelve weeks in 1994.

Release

Home media

''Fluke'' was released on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

on November 21, 1995 and

LaserDisc LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...

on November 28, 1995 by

MGM/UA Home Video MGM/UA may refer to: *Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, American film and television production and distribution company **United Artists, American film and television studio, now a subsidiary of Amazon MGM Studios *MGM/UA Home Entertainment MGM Home Entertai ...

in North America (which was presented in the theatrical version and available exclusively through

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

). ''Fluke'' was also released on VHS on November 5, 1996 by MGM/UA Family Entertainment in North America (which has been edited for family viewing and was also available exclusively through Warner Home Video). In Japan, ''Fluke'' was released on VHS on July 5, 1996 by Warner Home Video under the MGM/UA Family Entertainment label (which was presented in the theatrical version).

Reception

Box office

The film was a

box-office bomb A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...

, grossing $3,987,768 in North America.

Critical response

Caryn James Caryn James is an American film critic, journalist, university lecturer, and writer. Biography She grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, and obtained her doctorate in English literature at Brown University. She began working as a freelance jour ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described ''Fluke'' as "the kind of pompous movie in which Fluke learns some life lessons and Mr. Modine says in a high-serious voice-over" and stated, "Though it is meant to be whimsical and touching, the film's style is leaden, and its story has more danger than excitement. ��''Fluke'' is too serious for children and too ridiculous for adults."

Desson Howe Desson Patrick Thomson is a speechwriter, journalist and film critic. He was a speechwriter for the Obama administration and film critic for ''The Washington Post''. He was known as Desson Howe until 2003 when he changed his name after reunitin ...

of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' called the film "one of the weirdest, most depressing family films ever made" and wrote that "it's a bizarre hybrid of wet-nosed tear-jerker and adult psychodrama, with a bummer conclusion, and out-there

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

-lite themes about life beyond the grave, guaranteed to send kids sobbing into the night." Kevin Thomas of the ''

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 ...

'' opined, "Maybe if ''Fluke'', which might have been better as an animated feature, weren't such a lavish, big-deal production and closer to the modest level of the recent — and pleasant little — pig movie ''

Gordy ''Gordy'' is a 1994 American family comedy-drama film directed by Mark Lewis, about a livestock piglet named Gordy who searches for his missing family (who are taken away to a slaughterhouse in Omaha, Nebraska). He experiences the lives of othe ...

'', it wouldn't seem so overwhelmingly, at times even laughably, foolish. The film's human actors acquit themselves admirably under the circumstances, but there's no question that the stars are Comet (as Fluke) and Barney (as Rumpo), bolstered by excellent trainers and special-effects personnel."

Emanuel Levy Emanuel Levy () is a veteran, well-known American film critic and professor emeritus of sociology and film of Arizona State University. For the past 50 years, he has taught a wide variety of courses in sociology, film studies, and popular cultur ...

of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' stated, "The adventure doesn't pander to kids, though toward the end it gets overly emotional, milking every situation with lengthy reaction shots and cute closeups of Fluke" and "all three adults — Modine, Travis and Stoltz — otherwise accomplished and attractive performers, assume secondary status to the gorgeous dog and his loyal benefactor, Pomeranc."

Lisa Schwarzbaum Lisa Schwarzbaum (born July 5, 1952) is an American film critic. She joined ''Entertainment Weekly'' as a senior writer in 1991, working as a film critic for the magazine alongside Owen Gleiberman from 1995 to 2013. Early life Lisa Schwarzbaum w ...

of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' gave the film a grade of "D" and commented, "With the exception of the cheek-pinchable Pomeranc, the cast gives performances as bewildered as the plot is bewildering. There is, though, one other star: The dog is great."

Accolades

References

External links

* {{James Herbert 1995 films 1995 children's films 1995 fantasy films 1990s American films 1990s English-language films 1990s children's drama films 1990s children's fantasy films 1990s fantasy drama films American children's drama films American children's fantasy films American fantasy drama films Metaphysical fiction films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films about animal rights Films about dogs Films about families Films about reincarnation Films based on British novels Films directed by Carlo Carlei Films produced by Paul Maslansky Films scored by Carlo Siliotto Films shot in Atlanta Films shot in Newnan, Georgia English-language fantasy drama films