Director/Writer: Adam Rifkin Stars: Burt Reynolds, Ariel Winter, Clark Duke, Ellar Coltrane, Chevy Chase, Nikki Blonsky 1 HR 54 MIN Dog years premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. Most of the cast and the director/writer, Adam Rifkin, were in attendance for the début (I actually sat directly behind Chevy Chase and his family). The story centers around an aging actor, Vic Edwards (Burt Reynolds), who was adored in his younger years by throngs of fans but nows lives alone eating Hungry Man tv dinners with his equally senior dog (who in a sad sequence is put to sleep early in the movie). Vic’s Hollywood contemporary and apparently only friend, Sonny (Chevy Chase) encourages Vic to attend the Nashville Film Festival where he is to be honored with the lifetime achievement award because some of the greats received it in the previous years. After some consideration, we see Vic departing LAX back to his home state of Tennesee. Vic doesn’t quite find the reception he was looking for but he gains far more in the end. Though Vic Edwards is a fictional character, the movie brilliantly uses film from Burts early career throughout the film. There are several sequences where Vic is talking to a young Burt Reynolds (Vic himself from the movie’s point of view) in scenes from his long movie career. The passage of time in the juxtaposition is profound. This is what really makes the movie compelling. Though not a biopic about Burt Reynolds, it captures much of what it must feel like to have risen so far and to have it pass mostly into memory. The truth of that can be seen from Reynolds own comments in the post-screening Q&A where he said he was absolutely crying in many parts. The movie itself works pretty straightforward as a two person unlikely friendship story arc between Lil (Ariel Winters) and Vic. Lil doesn’t know Vic’s work and is not happy that she has to schlep Vic around for the weekend as a chauffeur. The rest of the cast has a small role in the overall story and are not developed much beyond stereotypes. Overall the movie is very enjoyable as a nostalgic tribute to Reynolds terrific career. B