---
title: "Strays"
year: 2023
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/strays"
fi1m_id: "strays"
imdb_id: "tt15153532"
tmdb_id: 912908
wikidata_id: "Q111340524"
fi1m_score: 60
critics_score: 63
critics_reviews: 14
published: "2026-09-10"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:05.591332+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Strays (2023)

Directed by Josh Greenbaum · 1h 33m · MPA R · Comedy, Adventure

## Identity

Strays

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/strays
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** strays
- **IMDb ID:** tt15153532
- **TMDB ID:** 912908
- **Wikidata ID:** Q111340524
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15153532/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/912908, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q111340524

**Fi1m score: 60** · Critics 63 from 14 reviews

*In a sentence:* Four very good dogs and one joke, repeated with mounting enthusiasm for ninety-three minutes

> Josh Greenbaum’s foul-mouthed answer to the family dog film has real dogs, an honest sweetness and about three jokes, which it tells over and over for 93 minutes. It made us laugh more than we would like to admit, and then it stopped.

## Synopsis

Reggie, a small terrier voiced by Will Ferrell, adores his owner Doug (Will Forte), who does not return the feeling. Doug’s idea of a game is to drive Reggie miles from home and leave him there; Reggie assumes it is fetch and keeps finding his way back. When he is finally dumped in the city, he falls in with Bug (Jamie Foxx), a Boston terrier with strong views on everything, along with Maggie (Isla Fisher) and Hunter (Randall Park). Together they set off on a long walk home so that Reggie can take revenge on Doug in the most direct way a dog knows how. A live-action comedy with real dogs, directed by Josh Greenbaum and written by Dan Perrault.

## Review

*Strays* is the talking-dog film with the swearing left in. Reggie (Will Ferrell), a trusting little terrier, lives with Doug (Will Forte), a man who cannot stand him and keeps driving him further and further from home in the hope he will not come back. Reggie thinks this is a game. When he lands in the city he meets Bug (Jamie Foxx), a Boston terrier who has never had an owner and never wanted one, and two more strays, Maggie (Isla Fisher) and Hunter (Randall Park), and resolves to walk home and bite off a specific part of Doug. The tagline is “Go fetch yourself”. That is the film, and it is a decent one, funnier than it has any right to be for about forty minutes and then noticeably less.

The dogs are the reason to see it. Tim Orr shoots them at their own height in ordinary suburban daylight, so the film looks exactly like the wholesome ones it is mocking, and the animals are real animals with only their mouths worked over. A Great Dane in a plastic cone gazing into the lens is funny before anyone has said a word, and Greenbaum knows it, and holds the shot. Aaron Osborne gives Doug a house that looks like a student flat nobody moved out of, and the city the dogs pass through is scruffy enough to feel like somewhere a dog might live rather than a set a dog has been brought to.

Foxx does the heavy lifting. He gives Bug a rapid, confident, entirely unearned authority, the voice of a small dog who has decided he is a large one, and most of the film’s best lines are his. Ferrell plays Reggie as pure open-hearted stupidity, which suits the premise: the joke is that the sweetest creature in the film is the one plotting mutilation. Park makes Hunter’s nerves touching in a way the script does not quite ask for, and Fisher gets the least to do and does it well. Josh Gad turns up as a dog who narrates his own life in the voice of a hundred sentimental trailers, and Sofía Vergara voices a couch. The couch is one of the better characters.

We laughed hardest at the sequence in a field of mushrooms, where the four dogs eat something they should not and the film lets them be dogs whose brains have gone wrong rather than comedians in dog suits. It runs longer than a sensible editor would allow and is funnier for it. We laughed, and then we felt slightly ashamed, because the punchline was a dog doing something unrepeatable to a garden ornament, and we had known that was coming and laughed anyway. There is also a night of fireworks, seen from underneath, that is the one time the film takes the dogs’ fear seriously, and it lands.

The trouble is what the script by Dan Perrault does when it is not doing those things. The swearing is the punchline far too often, and a dog saying a rude word is funny the first time, mildly funny the fifth, and by the twentieth simply what the film sounds like. Three editors are credited, Greg Hayden, David Rennie and Sabrina Plisco, and the film still moves like a run of sketches with a road between them. Dara Taylor’s score swells in the broad, orchestral way of the films being parodied, which is the right idea, but it is asked to do it under every gag, and the gags stop noticing. The stretch between the mushrooms and the last twenty minutes is where we started checking how long was left.

Greenbaum’s previous film, *Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar* (2021), was daft and sincere at once, and the sincerity was the surprise. *Strays* has the sincerity too: the four of them plainly like each other, and the film likes dogs, their stupidity and their loyalty and their revolting habits, and says so without embarrassment. What it lacks is the invention. [*Babe*](https://film.one/film/babe) and *Homeward Bound* are in its sights but it never quite aims; it borrows their shape and their light and then shouts over them.

It runs 93 minutes and carries a 15 certificate, which is the whole review in two numbers. Watch it at home, with a drink and someone who does not mind a poo joke, and do not under any circumstances mistake it for one of the films it is making fun of. The dogs, at least, were excellent, and none of them said a word.

*Fi1m score 60, published 10 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews split, with a wide spread between critics who find it consistently funny and critics who find it tiresome. Where it is praised, the praise gathers round the voice cast, with Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx named again and again as the reason the premise holds, and round the technical work that keeps real dogs on screen for 93 minutes without the effects showing. Several critics are surprised to find some heart under the filth.

The reservations are nearly all the same one: the swearing and the gags about bodily functions are funny once and then repeated, and the plot underneath is thin and rushed. Little White Lies goes furthest against it, calling the dialogue witless and the execution lazy, and The Independent says it lacks the wit of the director’s earlier films. The Guardian, at the other end, says it changed its critic’s mind about talking-animal films altogether.

## Straight answers

**Is Strays worth watching?**

*Strays* is worth watching if you want a talking-dog film with the swearing left in and can forgive it running out of jokes, and we scored it 60. Jamie Foxx's Bug and the real dogs carry the first forty minutes; after that the rude words become the film's only punchline. Best at home, with a drink.

**How long is Strays, and what is it rated?**

*Strays* runs 1h 33m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a comedy and adventure film.

**Where can I watch Strays in the US?**

*Strays* is streaming on Peacock, The Roku Channel and Amazon Prime Video in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Strays, and is it suitable for children?**

*Strays* carries a UK 15 certificate and a US R, and it is not for children despite the cute dogs on the poster. The comedy is built on swearing, sex jokes, poo jokes and a plot about biting off part of a man's anatomy, none of it frightening but all of it crude. Teenagers who like Will Ferrell will be fine.

**How does Strays compare to Babe?**

*Strays* is the parody and [*Babe*](https://film.one/film/babe) is the film it is parodying, and *Babe* is the better of the two by some distance. *Babe* is a warm family film that takes its animals seriously while still letting us laugh at them; *Strays* borrows its look and light and then shouts rude words over it. Choose *Babe* for children or for anything you want to remember next week.

**What should I watch after Strays?**

After *Strays*, try [*Babe*](https://film.one/film/babe) (1995, Fi1m 88): The film this one is rude about, and it is better than the parody. Then [*Ted*](https://film.one/film/ted) (2012, Fi1m 64): The same trick with a teddy bear, and the swearing had a point.

### Reviews we read (23)

- **The Guardian** (80/100, inferred): This stoner comedy about foul-mouthed stray dogs on a revenge quest changed the critic's mind about talking-animal films. The outrageous bad-taste laughs and dramatic impact of the finale stand out for praise. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/17/strays-review-will-ferrell-leads-brutally-funny-comedy-of-foul-mouthed-talking-dogs)
- **Variety**, Todd Gilchrist (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the smart, raunchy adventure for balancing animal perspectives with emotional depth and inventive comedy in a tight, relatable package. [Read](https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/strays-review-will-ferrell-jamie-foxx-1235698472/)
- **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (80/100, inferred): The review calls the crude comedy very funny and artfully made, celebrating its random vulgarity and strong voice performances that keep the premise entertaining. It singles out the well-executed dog VFX and cast chemistry for praise while noting it lacks deeper themes. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/movie-reviews-strays-with-will-ferrell-and-jamie-foxx.html)
- **The AV Club**, Leigh Monson (C+): The critic views the film as a juvenile premise executed with only modest success, delivering chuckles but few genuine laughs amid its poop and profanity gags. The voice cast, especially Jamie Foxx and Randall Park, is noted for providing the strongest moments. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/strays-movie-review-will-ferrell-jamie-foxx-1850724767)
- **The Telegraph** (3/5): This crude, absurd comedy is the crudest of the year, a canine Jackass with plenty of genitalia and poo gags. Ferrell and Foxx's voice work and the occasional clean highlight provide some relief from the gross-out elements. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/strays-review-will-ferrell-jamie-foxx/)
- **Time Out**, Olly Richards (3/5): The critic sees it as a sophomoric yet sweet foul-mouthed comedy that works amiably with charming elements despite obvious jokes; praises its loose, charming quality reminiscent of the director's previous work. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/strays-2023)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Gary Goldstein (50/100, inferred): The critic calls the R-rated talking-dog comedy amusing in spots with relatable observations but ultimately rote and reliant on swearing and gross-out humor that loses its bite. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-08-18/strays-review-will-ferrell-jamie-foxx-will-forte-isla-fisher-dogs-r-rated)
- **The New York Times**, Glenn Kenny (40/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a relentlessly raunchy comedy about dogs seeking revenge that piles on crude gags but ultimately feels like it may lead to a sequel. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/17/movies/strays-review-will-ferrell-jamie-foxx.html)
- **Little White Lies**, Hannah Strong (1/1/1): The critic calls it a derivative, tedious comedy full of puerile jokes about bodily functions that fails to amuse; singles out the lack of wit in the dogs' dialogue and lazy execution despite promising talent. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/strays)
- **Empire**, John Nugent: The critic praises the film as a crude, crass gross-out comedy from a dog's perspective that delivers genuine laughs and captures why people love dogs despite their disgusting habits. They note it succeeds as an R-rated kids movie with a solid understanding of its characters. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/strays/)
- **Evening Standard**, Ella Kemp: The review highlights plenty of laughs from the gross-out canine comedy but criticizes its lack of bite and depth, noting it prioritizes rude jokes over meaningful material. It praises some effective set pieces like the acid trip and fireworks sequence while observing the sweet undercurrent of companionship among the dogs. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/strays-film-review-will-ferrell-jamie-foxx-b1101062.html)
- **Financial Times**, Jonathan Romney (★★★☆☆): Strays is a determinedly garbage-minded farce about a naive terrier schooled in street life by a potty-mouthed Boston terrier. It is relentlessly scatological and fixated on gross-out gags, with a few audacious moments that land. [Read](https://www.ft.com/content/a2d4b228-d94c-4e4f-9909-500c952b741d)
- **IndieWire**, Samantha Bergeson: The review praises the film's ability to deliver heart alongside its trash-talking canine premise, noting that the dumb humor works despite the ruff script. Jamie Foxx and Will Ferrell are highlighted for bringing charm and energy to the dogs. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/strays-review-jamie-foxx-will-ferrell-1234896428/)
- **Screen Daily**: The critic finds it a vulgar, intermittently funny anti-Babe with cute mutts behaving badly; praises specific dog-habit humor and satire of feel-good animal films but notes the outrageousness drags. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/strays-review/5184887.article)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Frank Scheck: The critic finds the raunchy dog comedy amusing and packed with laughs thanks to its vulgar gags and strong voice cast, though the thin plot grows repetitive. Ferrell and Foxx are singled out for their effective comedic performances. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/strays-review-will-ferrell-jamie-foxx-1235568014/)
- **The Independent**: The critic finds the film unfunny and repetitive, with its raunchy dog humor quickly wearing thin despite the premise. They note it lacks the wit of the director's previous work and that the animal performers limit comedic timing. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/strays-movie-review-b2394142.html)
- **The Times**, Ed Potton (★★★☆☆): At its best this crude comedy drags dog movies through the gutter like Bad Santa did for Christmas films. The puerile hilarity outnumbers the unfunny moments, though it demands high tolerance for swearing and bodily fluids. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/strays-film-review-p8r29559c)
- **Total Film**, Neil Smith: The review calls the premise of swearing dogs funny only once and criticizes the relentless escalation of crude humor into something tiresome and porno-like. It singles out the go-for-broke approach but concludes viewers will wish for a more wholesome dog movie. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/strays-review/)
- **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (80/100, inferred): The critic calls it an irresistible R-rated subversion of the talking-dog genre that is raunchy yet has a huge heart thanks to its lovable canine stars and voice performances. Technical expertise in showcasing real dogs over 93 minutes is singled out for praise. [Read](https://deadline.com/2023/08/strays-review-will-ferrell-jamie-foxx-r-rated-talking-dog-movie-1235521567/)
- **/Film**, Barry Levitt (8/10): Strays is a riotously funny gross-out comedy that scratches the itch for silly stupid movies with ludicrous moments and genuine heart. It balances wince-worthy humor with spirited voice acting and a perfect soundtrack needle drop. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1367861/strays-review/)
- **Collider**, Nate Richard (B): The critic says Strays delivers exactly what it promises with 90 minutes of talking dogs making inappropriate jokes, cursing, and getting into trouble, with humor that may be juvenile at times but works well overall. They single out the stellar voice cast with Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx leading the pack, while noting the plot feels rushed and repetitive but the film succeeds as a raunchy dog movie. [Read](https://collider.com/strays-movie-review/)
- **The Wrap** (75/100, inferred): The critic finds the juvenile, crude dog comedy very funny and oddly sweet as it subverts family-friendly animal tropes with profanity and themes of toxic relationships. The clever Benji-formula reversal and lampooning of narrator dogs are highlighted as effective elements. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/strays-movie-review/)
- **HeyUGuys**, Jack Hawkins (3/5): The film delivers vulgarity and sight gags but overdoes the obscenity in the dialogue, wearing thin quickly. It stands out for its seamless blend of live-action dogs and CGI along with some heart. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/strays-review/)

## Details

- **Director:** Josh Greenbaum
- **Director:** Josh Greenbaum
- **Writer:** Dan Perrault
- **Cinematography:** Tim Orr
- **Editor:** Greg Hayden, David Rennie, Sabrina Plisco
- **Music:** Dara Taylor
- **Production design:** Aaron Osborne
- **Costume design:** Romy Itzigsohn
- **Producer:** Louis Leterrier, Erik Feig, Phil Lord
- **Cast:** Will Ferrell as Reggie (voice); Jamie Foxx as Bug (voice); Isla Fisher as Maggie (voice); Randall Park as Hunter (voice); Will Forte as Doug; Brett Gelman as Willy; Rob Riggle as Rolf (voice); Josh Gad as Gus (voice)
- **Runtime:** 1h 33m
- **Certificate (MPA):** R
- **Release (the US):** 18 August 2023
- **Genres:** Comedy, Adventure
- **Budget:** $46 million
- **Box office:** $32 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26Xq6_g2r6Q

## Where to watch in the US

- Peacock: streaming, uhd
- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, uhd

*Checked 2026-09-10.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, IE, IT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, TR, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Babe* (1995), Fi1m 88: The film this one is rude about, and it is better than the parody — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/babe.md)
- *Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar* (2021): Greenbaum’s previous, stranger and sweeter, with the invention this one is missing
- *White God* (2014): Abandoned dogs take their revenge on Budapest, and nobody is joking
- *Ted* (2012), Fi1m 64: The same trick with a teddy bear, and the swearing had a point — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/ted.md)
- *Bad Santa* (2003): A wholesome genre dragged through the gutter by someone who understood it

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/strays