Scott Turner has 3 days left in the local police department before he moves to a bigger city to get some 'real' cases—not just misdemeanors. When Amos Reed is murdered, Scott sets himself on the case, but the closest thing to a witness to the murder is Reed's dog, Hooch, which Scott has to take care of—to avoid Hooch being 'put to sleep'.
Hanks, who can even grace a film such as "The 'Burbs," is always a movie's best friend.
– Desson Thomson,
Washington Post,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
If there's a new hair in this dogeared dramedy, it would take a bloodhound to sniff it out.
– Rita Kempley,
Washington Post,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
The one level on which this mild children's comedy works is as an extended gross joke for 8-year-olds.
– Caryn James,
New York Times,
20 May 2003
rotten:
From the moment when Hooch first appears to the strains of Strauss' 'Also sprach Zarathustra', the gags can be smelt a mile off, and the thriller elements are as hackneyed as an episode of Murder She Wrote.
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
9 Feb 2006
rotten:
The rather mechanical style of director Roger Spottiwoode (who took over the film after original director Henry Winkler departed) fails to enliven the stereotypical criminal proceedings.