By Hollywood.com
Story
David Arquette is happy-go-lucky Gordon Smith, a dog-fearing postman in the Jersey 'burbs who likes to hang with his buddy Benny (Anthony Anderson) watching sports and eating Cheetos and enjoying a life free of responsibility. Until, that is, the hot neighbor Stephanie (
Leslie Bibb) he's been trying unsuccessfully to date is left without a babysitter and leaves her young son James (Angus T. Jones) in his care. Meanwhile, mobster baddie Sonny Talia (
Paul Sorvino) puts a hit out on the hardworking FBI canine Agent Eleven, who helped bust up his drug deal. Eleven escapes protective custody and ends up hitching a ride in - you guessed it -- Gordon's mail delivery truck. Now Sonny's hit men (and the FBI) are after all three of them.
Acting
Arquette, who's best known for his AT&T spots, "Scream" movie roles and marriage to "Friend"
Courteney Cox, is good at pulling off the physical comedy required to portray a kid in a grown man's body, with his wild hair, wacky attitude, fart jokes and breakdancing abilities. While most kiddie flicks feature annoyingly precocious tots you'd rather strangle than watch on-screen, the pudgy, terrifyingly cute Jones comes across just like any regular kid. You wouldn't guess that perfect-looking
Leslie Bibb ("Popular") could be so appealing, but she's willing to get dirty -- literally - and is able to pull off slapstick schtick with the best of 'em.
Michael Clarke Duncan as Agent Eleven's way-too-devoted human partner Murdoch is over-the-top silly, but gets plenty of laughs. The dog's cute, too.
Direction
Director John Whitesell, whose only other film credit is 1993's "Calendar Girl," does a good job of hanging this not-so-original tale around a likeable, energetic cast that really looks like they're having fun. Thankfully the movie doesn't go overboard with sentimentality -- "Spot" hits the right emotional spot, tempering the tear-jerking stuff with juvenile comedy and throwing in some jokes that'll make adults laugh too. Young and old will enjoy this movie, although it might be overlong and too confusing for some very little ones to follow and some of the humor gets pretty gross - watching the hapless Arquette roll around in doggy doo for 10 minutes was a bit much.