This pedestrian reworking of the Lassie story owes much to the 1950s television series and virtually nothing to the Hollywood children's classic of 1943. In a desperate reach for relevance, the script has Lassie functioning as a kind of New Age family counselor, helping a troubled
adolescent come to terms with the death of his mother.
Yuppie businessman Steve Turner (Jon Tenney), widowed and newly re-married, decides to leave Baltimore and start a new life with his family on a Virginia farm. Teenaged Matthew (Thomas Guiry), who prefers skateboarding and heavy metal music to pastoral pursuits, doesn't welcome the change; he's
also having difficulty accepting stepmother Laura (Helen Slater). On the way to Virginia, the Turners find and adopt a friendly collie; Matthew's little sister, Jennifer (Brittany Boyd), names the dog "Lassie." Matthew hates the farm and does his best to ignore Lassie, who seems to want to draw
him out of his shell. She leads him to the local swimming hole, prods him to adopt and nurture a sick lamb, and even assists his budding romance with local girl April (Michelle Williams). Most importantly, Lassie leads Matthew to his mother's childhood diaries--apparently the dog can read--which
help him deal with his loss and cope with his new surroundings. Soon, Matthew is able to leave the house without his Walkman, and Lassie becomes his constant companion. After it becomes clear to the Turners that the only way to make a go of their new life is to become sheep farmers, Lassie's
herding talents come in handy. By the film's end, she has helped her adoptive family to overcome the unscrupulous machinations of rival neighbors, the Garlands, who have amassed a considerable fortune illegally grazing their flock on the Turner's land.
LASSIE is handsomely photographed (by Kenneth MacMillan, whose best work to date was seen in Kenneth Branagh's HENRY V) and routinely directed by Hollywood journeyman Daniel Petrie, who may have been hired for his prior experience with dog acts (THE SPY WITH A COLD NOSE, 1966). Although the
smarmy screenplay substitutes Oprah-style pop psychology for the maudlin but undeniably affecting sentiment of the 1943 original, most children won't know the difference; lethargic adults may be momentarily roused by Lassie's fight with a wolf, which is environmentally incorrect but well-staged
and relatively exciting. Producer Lorne Michaels is best known for "Saturday Night Live" knock-offs like WAYNE'S WORLD and THE CONEHEADS. (Violence.) leave a comment
