Chilly Dogs

The lovely snowy expanses of Alaska are the setting for "Chilly Dogs", a goofy comedy about a travel agency clerk (Skeet Ulrich, "Scream", "The Newton Boys") from Los Angeles who has to prove his mettle by racing a team of mismatched sled dogs from Anchorage to Nome. Only this will allow him to claim his grandfather's inheritance--and a wily lawyer (Leslie Nielsen, mugging shamelessly as usual) intends to claim that inheritance for himself by knocking the clerk out of the race. It's not surprising to see Ulrich in a movie full of clumsy, half-baked slapstick and bodily function humor, but why is Natasha Henstridge ("Species", "The Whole Nine Yards") thrown away as a bland romantic foil? Her intelligence and sexy/tough persona deserve better--she provides "Chilly Dogs" with what little momentum it has. Also featuring Rik Mayall ("The Young Ones"). "--Bret Fetzer"