One of the greatest joys you can have watching movies is
discovering something that no one else you know has seen and being able to
share with them something fantastic that you’ve found. Those movies that are
well made in every sense of the word yet are obscure because no one who backed
the film was confident enough to release it wide and instead released it
straight to DVD. UNLEASHED is one of those movies.
Kate Miccuci stars as Emma, a software developer and
astronomy lover whose latest effort was stolen by her boyfriend who passed it
off as his own as he dumps her. Heartbroken she packs up her belongings as well
as her dog Sam and cat Diego and moves across the country. She finds a place,
lands a new job and meets a nice guy named Carl (Sean Astin) who is a handyman
taking care of her apartment building.
While Emma doesn’t notice Carl is taken with her she wishes
that she could meet a guy who understands her as much as her pets do. The stars
align and her wish comes true, sort of. Both Sam and Diego transform into human
beings but outside of the house having run out when Carl accidentally left the
door open. On the streets and unclothed they begin to find ways to survive.
Here is where some of the most hilarious moments in the film
kick in. Both transformed pets continue to display the attitudes that they had
while animals. Sam (Steve Howey) is kind of goofy, muscular and ready to play
all the time. He finds work as a personal trainer when a group of wannabe
joggers see him running at the park.
Diego (Justin Chatwin) on the other hand is all feline. He
slinks about giving the air of sensuality that lands him a gig as the newest
male model in town. He gives them his name and uses the background of a soap
opera star he saw in a show watched with Emma.
As the animals are finding their way in the world they both
continue to worry about their owner Emma. And Emma them as well searching the
neighborhood for the pair. Helping her is Carl who has printed up a ton of wanted
posters for the animals and tacked them up throughout the neighborhood. Here is
where she finally recognizes that maybe he’s a nice guy after all.
But Sam and Diego are still there this time in human form.
Both of them try to get into the good graces of Emma by dating her. With Carl
on the backburner she’s taken by both for all the wrong reasons. It is left to
be seen if she will realize that Carl is who she was meant to be with or not.
We’re also left to wonder what will become of her two constant companions in human
form.
Not only does this become an issue but Emma has a run in
with her ex-boyfriend, the jerk who stole her program. You may want her to
punch him in the nose but the truth is you hope for something more terrible to
happen to him, a comeuppance.
Well made from a technical aspect the movie looks great. The
writing here is wonderful with some truly side splitting lines. But it is the
actors who make this entire film work. Miccuci, recognizable from her
performances as Raj’s girlfriend Lucy on THE BIG BANG THEORY, has a great sense
of comic timing and displays a vulnerability that makes you want the best for
her. She anchors the performances around her.
Astin does a great job as well playing Carl. He’s the kind
of guy you wish someone you cared for would meet. But it is Chatwin and Howey
that steal the show. Their deliveries of the animals turned human are a visual
treat to watch as they take on the characteristics of said pets. Words cannot
describe how hilarious those moments are in the film.
Chances are most places you look to rent this will either
not have a copy or it will be buried. It is treasure worth seeking out. As a
matter of fact for me it’s a movie I know I’ll want to pull off the shelf and
watch every now and then in those moments where I need a smile. This movie
provides plenty of those moments.
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