The movie “Best in Show” is a seemingly simple and straightforward film, with a surprisingly profound meaning. Initially, the characters are depicted as having mundane, as well as a bit peculiar, lives as owners of dogs. To myself, this prospect seems unfamiliar and even a bit ridiculous, but perhaps that’s because I’m a New Yorker, and deathly afraid of dogs as well. To myself, I ask the question: Who in the world would spend so much time and effort to groom and cater to a domestic pet to bring it a competition? And even so, why would they do such a thing? But when you apply the concept of each individual having their own idea of happiness to this movie, that’s where things begin to fall into place and to make sense. The characters in the film are chasing happiness, and they are doing so through their dogs. For every single one of the owners, they are alike in that their dogs are their pride and joy, regardless of how different each of the owners is. Attending a dog show would be a nightmare for some, but for these characters make it their top priority to compete in it. And then at the end of the film, when there is one winner, the rest of the dog owners and their dogs go on to do things that they find thoroughly enjoyable. This ending can be interpreted as a way of showing that happiness isn’t always what you think it is, and that again, happiness is not the same for everyone. A humorous but sometimes disconcerting film, “Best in Show” is a film you might want to watch with a particular group of people, maybe ones that have an odd sense of humor. Like I said, you won’t find me at a dog competition anytime within the next decade. Pictures of cute dogs are okay with me, though. 🙂
