I know I’m a little late on the bandwagon here, since this came out several weeks ago– but when I first saw the trailer for Year of the Dog, I thought it was just going to be another quirky pastel-colored romantic comedy. I was pleasantly surprised to discover an altogether original film that is by turns hilarious and heartbreaking. Chuck & Buck writer Mike White presents the audience with another character propelled on a path towards anti-social behavior, but the difference here is that we actually care about her, not in the least due to Molly Shannon’s stellar performance.

In fact, everyone is amazing in Year of the Dog. It’s not easy to juggle comedy and earnestness, but Shannon, Laura Dern and especially Peter Sarsgaard do just that with unexpected nuance. With less talented performers, it would have been easy to simply laugh at the characters without feeling any connection with them. And they couldn’t have asked for a better venue to display their talents than through White’s thoughtful and authentic script. As a first-time director, too, he shows off a keen sense for comedic timing and striking compositions. But I’ll stop gushing and simply command you all to see this film as soon as possible. Seriously, like, leave now. At these prices, tickets won’t last long.