SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Strays. If you have not yet seen the film, proceed at your own risk!
At the end of the first act in the new comedy Strays, a promise of sorts is made to the audience. Reggie, a Border Terrier voiced by Will Ferrell, announces to a new group of canine friends that it is his intention to bite off the penis of his former owner, Doug (played by Will Forte), and it’s such a wild proposition that you just know that the movie is going to pull it off.
Sure enough, Strays does feature a climax with Reggie chomping on a scrotum – and there’s a fun story behind how the production pulled off the violent ending using real dogs.
I had the pleasure of interviewing director Josh Greenbaum last week during the virtual press day for Strays, and after digging into how little CGI is used by the production and how the movie’s best cameo came together, we took a venture into spoiler territory. I asked the filmmaker to explain how the whole sequence was orchestrated, and he began by noting that he always knew the sequence had to be the adventure’s biggest moment. Said Greenbaum,
At the end of Strays, Reggie returns to his suburban home with Bug (Jamie Foxx), Maggie (Isla Fisher) and Hunter (Randall Park), and the protagonist confronts his former owner about his past abuse. A scuffle ensues, but before too long, Doug is left injured on his back in the middle of his living room. On opposite sides of him, Bug and Maggie each take a mouthful of pant leg and spread his legs akimbo, and Reggie goes to town on his crotch. And to add insult to injury, Hunter lines his haunches up over Doug’s face and lets loose with his bowels.
It’s a nasty, violent, and funny sequence, and Josh Greenbaum credits dog trainer Mathilde de Cagny for figuring out how to get the dog playing Reggie to attack Will Forte’s penis. As the director noted, it was partially a matter of taking advantage of what Border Terriers are bred to do:
The action was trained in correspondence with a verbal command, and while Josh Greenbaum couldn’t remember exactly what was said to get the dog to jump at Will Forte’s groin, he recalled having a moment of pondering his career when he heard what the trainers said to get the animal actors to hump. Greenbaum continued,
Clearly Josh Greenbaum knew it was funny, but he got immediate affirmation from his crew on set as well. Laughs were evidently erupting all around set as people from different departments watched the carnage and appreciating the “saint-“ like qualities of Will Forte (who didn’t abandon his responsibilities and let a stunt actor have all the fun). Said the director,
Or to sum it up briefly: it’s movie magic.
Featuring a stellar voice cast, Strays is now playing in theaters everywhere, and for a look ahead at all of the films set to be released between now and the end of the year, head over to our 2023 Movie Release Calendar.