Kicking the Dog
Kicking The Dog is a 2009 American comedy film written and directed by Randy Scoot Lammey. The movie follows a group of friends as they party during a summer break from college.
The movie was shot on Super 16mm with a budget of $72,000, mostly at the home of Lammey's parents, and was released on DVD on April 21, 2009 in the USA by MTI Home Video.[1][2] The movie has since been released in many foreign countries. Kicking The Dog was available in Blockbuster and Hollywood Video Stores as well as in DVDplay Kiosks (Redbox) and on Netflix, iTunes and online in many stores like Blockbuster, Best Buy and FYE. It ranked among the Top 10 Independent Comedies on Amazon the first month it was released.
Plot
Kicking The Dog revolves around a group of seven friends who are all either home from college for the summer, or who have just graduated from college. There are also five high school age characters who are hanging out with an older brother. While boozing and telling stories about old times, Satchem is forced to decide if he wants to take a job in another state, or stay at home with his girlfriend, Julie. The womanizing character of Matt brings his younger brother Robbie to the party, who brings two of his innocent friends and a couple cute girls, who become prey for Matt, unknowlingly to his brother. The character of Josh begins a job at a local adult book store and begins dating a former slut who joins in his fetish fantasies.[3]
Production
The movie was shot near West Chester, Pennsylvania, mostly at the home of Lammey's parents. The twelve actors were all cast in New York City. The movie was shot on a twenty-day schedule, with 18½ days at the parent's home, 1/2 day at Lammey's grandparents and one day at Lammey's aunt's home. An additional scene was added to the movie and was shot in a single day at an apartment and adult bookstore in Philadelphia.
Kicking The Dog was shot on Super 16mm and edited by Randy Scoot Lammey in his bedroom. It was the first movie he edited. The beer bottles, keg and pint glasses that appear in the movie are Hopdevil and Golden Monkey beer from Victory Brewing Company, which also provided food for the cast and crew during the weekend shoots.
Lammey's Mom repainted the entire interior of the house to provide a better backdrop for the scenes, and had to repaint the home after the shoot to cover the damage caused by the shoot. Most of the night interior scenes were shot during the day, with the windows covered in black plastic and the blinds closed to make it appear as though it were night, so Lammey's parent's could sleep at their home.[4]
Soundtrack
The soundtrack contains 23 songs, including five from the band Pawnshop Roses, whose video for the song "Gets So Hard" won the first YouTube Underground Contest and appeared on Good Morning America in the fall of 2006. The video was also produced by Lammey.[5][6]