The Dog Thrower

The Dog Thrower misfired on almost every level. Continuing its policy of recruiting big-name actors to its small-scale dramas, the programme cast former Friends star Matthew Perry as the eponymous canine trainer/tormentor.

We first meet Perry in the park launching and catching his pet spaniel. At first, the spectacle attracts a curious and appreciative crowd, and even an imitator in the form of Tim Key and his mongrel. But an unscrupulous local journalist twists the story, turning their fame to infamy, and the pair of dog throwers quickly become social pariahs.

So full marks to writer and director Jon Ronson for originality. However, the decision to pare the dialogue down to an almost silent movie-minimum rendered the narrative incomprehensible, the humour clouded and the characters' motivations baffling. It was a gimmick that backfired disastrously, and that certainly wasted Perry's considerable screen charisma and comedy skills.

But, on a more positive note, The Dog Thrower did go some way to make amends by ending upon a very funny, and totally unexpected, visual gag.

I don't suppose that in Matthew Perry's wildest dreams he imagined that when Friends finished in 2004, he would find himself playing a man who visits his local London park to throw his dog in the air. But then with no lines to learn, I can see what might have been in it for the actor.

The Dog Thrower was the first offering in a new series of Playhouse Presents on Sky Arts, the well-funded strand that has achieved some notable success with A Young Doctor's Notebook and Psychobitches.

I can only imagine that Perry's stellar presence earned it top billing in the new series, because the kindest thing I can find to say about this oddly fey, mostly dialogue-free affair, written and directed by Jon Ronson - his first foray into non-documentary - is that it was, well, oddly fey. But then these films are experimental - and some experiments, by their very nature, are bound to fail.

A closing caption stated that "animal experts, model and stunt dogs were employed to ensure animal welfare throughout production". Terrific, but I think it might have been equally important to have employed someone to say, "That's lovely, darlings, but back to the drawing board."

Penned by Jon Ronson, this opening episode of Playhouse Presents is a quirky silent comedy about, well, dog throwing. Tim Key puts his outsider comic skills to good use as Jonah, a dog walker who observes Matthew Perry's "Charismatic Man" tossing his hound into the air and receiving a rapturous response from a gathering crowd. Jonah, after the same adoration, starts doing the same with his canine Floppy, but things, inevitably, don't quite go to plan. Kimberley Nixon also stars.

Radio Times review

If you're looking for something different tonight, this is the one to watch. Largely wordless and full of bizarre or black twists, it's the story of Jonah, a lonely dog owner, played by Tim "Sidekick Simon" Key. Jonah sees a charismatic man (former friend Matthew Perry) attracting popularity by throwing his own pet pooch in the air, and decides to do the same.

Written and directed by journalist and film-maker Jon Ronson (The Men Who Stare at Goats), it's a bittersweet tale of the fickle finger of fame, herd mentality and the damaging nature of internet trollery. Scottish indie darlings Belle and Sebastian provide the groovy, appropriately quirky soundtrack.

Preview: The Dog Thrower, Sky Arts 1

The Dog Thrower is very funny. Of course it is. It's got Tim Key in it.

The Dog Thrower, Sky Arts 1, review: predictable & daft

Could repeatedly throwing and catching your dog ever be considered a bit of playful fun? Probably not, but that's the premise of the 30-minute comedy drama The Dog Thrower.

Matthew Perry interview

I was in London for about ten days and we shot for about six. We filmed a lot of it in Wimbledon.
 It was rainy and cold and I had a cold, and I had to keep a straight face while I stood in a park throwing a dog up and down.

Matthew Perry interview

The post-Friends decade has seen Matthew Perry battle addiction, star in flops, get clean and rediscover his funny side. Here, he talks about his British TV debut, chucking dogs around.

Jon Ronson interview

We talk to the journalist and documentary filmmaker about his (fictional) directorial debut, The Dog Thrower.