'Strays' is hands-down the most obscene talking-dog movie ever made. But not the funniest

I am confident in saying that “Strays” is the filthiest talking-dog movie ever made, or that likely ever will be.

Not that there is a lot of competition. Still, it’s difficult to imagine any movie ever outdoing director Josh Greenbaum’s on the obscenity front. Or the dog poop front. And especially not on the dog genitalia front.

It’s cute dogs talking dirty, in other words, and doing outrageous things. It’s “Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey” crossed with “Superbad,” resulting in a sort of canine version of “Sausage Party.”

Just not as good.

Not bad, mind you. “Sausage Party” pulled off the sweet parts a little more convincingly. (And “Superbad” is funnier than either — and sweeter to boot.) As for dogs that talk, well, I suppose it’s on par with “Homeward Bound.” But not as good as that movie, either.

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And yet! There are plenty of laugh-out loud moments, many of them provided by Will Forte as the absolute worst dog owner imaginable. Well, he’s a bad human in general; mistreating his dog is just one of his charms. You get a good idea of what he’s like — and the funniest line in the movie, even though it’s a throwaway — when he calls to yell at his mother for not sending enough money to cover the rent (nice) and says he can’t move back home.

“You know I can’t live that close to a school!”

Now that’s funny.

Forte plays Doug, who doesn’t want Reggie (voice of Will Ferrell), only keeping him to spite his ex. Doug often plays a game called … well, can’t say that here, but the gist is he dumps Reggie in increasingly distant drop-off spots, and when Reggie inevitably makes his way home, Doug utters a familiar obscenity.

Reggie thinks Doug is great, until he finally drops him off in the city and he realizes he doesn’t know the way home. He meets Bug (Jamie Foxx), a streetwise stray who tries to convince Reggie that Doug is actually a jerk. His dog friends Maggie (Isla Fisher) and Hunter (Randall Park) join in, but Reggie won’t be dissuaded — he is going to find his way home.

In the hopes of biting his owner’s genitalia clean off, but there are some twists and turns along the way.

It’s a familiar animal tale from there, the one all children are familiar with — the dogs find themselves in various predicaments, eat some psychedelic mushrooms with surprisingly violent results, organize a poop event to escape a kennel, engage in sex with random objects. The usual.

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Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx are gifted comic voice actors

I’m a fan of raunch comedy (see “Superbad,” above), but raunch alone isn’t enough. It has to be funny, too. Otherwise it’s like overhearing a bunch of fourth graders at recess trying out the cool new words they overheard while sneaking a peek at “South Park.”

As with any movie like this — basically a series of skits strung together, which films like “Animal House” and “This Is Spinal Tap” prove isn’t necessarily a shortcoming — there are hits and misses.

Forte’s evil Doug is always a reliably welcome presence (if for no one but the audience), and Ferrell and Foxx are, of course, gifted comic performers. So there are plenty of laughs.

But they’re a little one-note for this to be a truly remarkable comedy. After the 10th (or 20th or 30th) time you see an adorable mutt drop an F-bomb, you get the gist. The incongruity is shocking at first but wears off after a while, making “Strays” a good and funny bet for stumbling over while channel-surfing (or whatever the streaming version of that is), but not a lot more.

'Strays' 3 stars

Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★

Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★

Director: Josh Greenbaum.

Cast: Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher.

Rating: R for pervasive language, crude and sexual content, and drug use.

How to watch: In theaters Friday, Aug. 18.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Strays' review: Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx as dirty (talking) dogs