Bailey’s Billion$

Every so often you’ll hear a news story about how some rich person, in the misguided belief animals are better than humans, has left a fortune to some deserving cat or dog or pig or something. That simple idea drives this comedy. You can tell it started out as a Canadian movie because an early title was Bailey`s Millions. I suppose we need to think on a larger scale. The “Bailey” in the title is a dog. But no ordinary dog. He`s a sweet and savvy talking golden retriever who inherits a fortune from his devoted owner, Constance Pennington. His shy guardian, Ted, a renowned animal behaviorist and the only one who can speak “Doggish,” becomes attracted to Marge, an environmental and animal activist. Marge works at the Animal Rights and Research Foundation (ARRF) and is the single mother of a 12-year-old girl named Sam. At the same time, Bailey falls for Sam’s dog, Tessa, a super-smart border collie. The titular heads of ARRF, Dolores and Caspar Pennington, dream up a plot to recoup the fortune they believe is rightfully theirs. But then Bailey suddenly disappears. Bailey’s Billions is a family comedy and promises solid entertainment value. The director, David Devine, was behind such the previously successful projects as A Young Children’s Concert with Raffi and Beethoven Lives Upstairs.