The first thing that hit my mind once the end credits started rolling was, “I can’t believe I haven’t seen this movie before.” Why wasn’t I alerted to this? Of course I’ve known it as the starring vehicle for a young Don Johnson, but that’s about it. The catchy title certainly didn’t make me want to find out more. So here I am, finally discovering the brilliance of “A Boy and His Dog,” just released to DVD by First Run Features, and as much as I enjoyed it, I’m still pissed off that I didn’t know about it sooner.
Before kicking off his gold record making music career with top 20 hits such as “Heartbeat,” Don Johnson starred as Vic, the Boy in question in the sci-fi oddity “A Boy and His Dog,” adapted from a story by Harlan Ellison . And you know what? His performance is quite good. For a further taste of Johnson’s fine acting, you might want to check him out as the voice Lt. Falcon in “G.I. Joe the Movie.”
“A Boy and His Dog” shows us a 2024 planet Earth, ravaged by the atomic catastrophe of World War IV. The planet has become a wasteland with its few survivors scrambling to obtain its precious few resources – you know the post-apocalyptic drill. This is where we meet Vic and his dog Blood who communicates through a telepathic bond. The two bitch at each other while foraging for food and women. Yes, women. Vic is h***y and he’s on the prowl for a piece of a*s with the intensity of a serial rapist. Kinda makes it hard to see him in a positive light, but this is the post-apocalypse so we forgive him. When Vic finally does find a female, she turns out to be more willing to get down than he expected and the two hump all night as Blood groans about their filthy display. Having put a whip on him, this female lures Vic down into her subterranean world with a promise of a better life. Leaving Blood up top, vowing to return for him, Vic takes a hike down below to find a new suburbia inhabited by white face painted freaks desperately trying to hold on to the safe, peaceful lives they once led before the bombs dropped. This is helped along by a list of strict rules and handy cooking tips blaring at all times over loudspeakers set all over the quaint little town. They also have a frightening method of population control and this is where Vic comes in. He’s been chosen to impregnate several of the town’s specially selected young women, but this doesn’t entail him jumping into the sack with each and every one of them. No, town officials have Vic hooked up to a machine that will milk him dry. And that’s not the end of his troubles.
For fans of this cult classic, my new favorite post-apocalyptic adventure, I can’t imagine them being any happier with the picture and sound quality of this disc. It’s a joy to behold and I feel honored that my introduction to “A Boy and His Dog” looked and sounded this sweet.
