Calling Elmer a substandard example of the intrepid-dog genre requires giving the movie too much credit. Amateurish and dull, this early credit for director Christopher Cain—later to achieve minor success with Young Guns (1988)—is the least interesting sort of regional production, a vapid recitation of Hollywood clichés without the compensation of Hollywood gloss. At the beginning of the picture, aging hound Elmer lives with young Dean (played by Dean Cain, the director’s stepson and also destined for future success). Elmer has a habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, so Dean’s father arranges for the dog to live on a ranch with relatives. Alas, Elmer escapes on the way there. Meanwhile, young Jerry (Phillip Swanson) takes a ride on his uncle’s small plane, which crashes in the wilderness. Struck blind during the accident, Jerry struggles to find his way back to civilization until he encounters Elmer, who serves as a sort of guide and protector. The dramatic question, such as it is, concerns what Dean will do if and when he finds Elmer, who has bonded with Jerry. At best, this slim narrative could have sustained a half-hour episode of some children’s show, so even though it runs just 82 minutes, Elmer feels long and padded. Exacerbating the vapidity of the story are the film’s lifeless performances, moronic comic relief (think bumbling rural idiots), and treacly music. Still, all of this would have been more or less tolerable if Elmer (played, apparently, by a dog of the same name) was irresistibly adorable or trained to perform complicated tricks. No such luck. Elmer may have been a fun hang in real life, but onscreen he just sits there—as in, during many scenes, he literally just sits there. His lack of excitement is contagious.
Elmer: LAME
