''A Dog Named Gucci'' is a 2015 documentary film by

Gorman Bechard Gorman Bechard (born March 15, 1959) is an American film director, screenwriter and novelist best known for his independent feature films '' Psychos in Love,'' '' Friends (with benefits),'' and '' You Are Alone''; his four rock documentaries '' C ...

that chronicles the story of an Alabama puppy set on fire, and the man who came to his rescue. The film made its American festival debut in February 2015 at the

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Big Sky Documentary Film Festival is an annual non-fiction film festival held in Missoula, Montana each February. The event showcases documentary films from around the world. The festival first began in 2003 as a seven-day event. It is now a ten- ...

Synopsis

Spring Hill College Professor Doug James rescues an abused puppy and sets out on a mission to change the laws in Alabama on domestic animal abuse. Teaming with local legislators, it took James six years to see the "Gucci Bill" finally passed into law. Three other canine abuse cases feature: a rottweiler who was boarded in a kennel but starved to death, and two dogs who were burn victims, one of which was the first to test the new Gucci's Law. In Care2, Alicia Graef described the film, "It began back in 1994, when a 10-week-old puppy named Gucci was hung from a tree, beaten, doused in lighter fluid and set on fire by a group of men in Mobile, Alabama. College professor Doug James was nearby by pure chance and rushed to help. He would later become Gucci’s second owner and together the two would eventually bring about a historic change in Alabama’s animal cruelty laws through legislation honoring Gucci."

Release

Film screenings include the following: *

Missoula, Montana Missoula ( ; fla, label= Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County. It is located along the Clark Fork ...

, February 14, 2015 *

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

Phoenix Film Festival Phoenix Film Festival is a festival that celebrates feature films and their creators. Started in 2000, the annual celebration takes place in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. The festival is a showcase for feature and short films from all over the wo ...

, March 27, 2015 *

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

- New Haven Documentary Film Festival, June 7, 2015 *

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% f ...

Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival The Sidewalk Film Festival is an annual film festival taking place during the last weekend in August in the Theatre District of Birmingham, Alabama, since 1999. The festival typically screens at seven venues located within downtown Birmingham, fea ...

, August 30, 2015 *

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Alabama ...

- Crescent Theater, September 22, 2015 *

Bay City, Michigan Bay City is a city and county seat of Bay County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and it is the principal city of the Bay City Met ...

- Hell's Half Mile Film and Music Festival, September 27, 2015 *DVD release from MVD entertainment, April 19, 2016 *The film is available on digital streaming platforms iTunes, Amazon Prime, Google Play, and via pay-per-view on

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...

Awards

On November 12, 2015, director

was awarded the ASPCA Media Excellence Award for his work on A Dog Named Gucci.

Music

The end credits song from the film, " One Voice" written by

Ruth Moody Ruth Moody is an Australian-born soprano singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian folk trio The Wailin' Jennys. Biography Moody grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, with her parents, Charles and Marcelline, and three siblings, older broth ...

, features the talents of

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...

Aimee Mann Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and with other musicians. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyr ...

Susanna Hoffs Susanna Lee Hoffs (born January 17, 1959) is an American singer and guitarist, best known as a co-founder of the pop-rock band The Bangles. Hoffs founded The Bangles (originally called the Bangs) in 1981 with Debbi and Vicki Peterson. They r ...

Lydia Loveless Lydia Loveless (born September 4, 1990; as Lydia Ankrom) is an American alternative country singer-songwriter from Columbus, Ohio. Her music combines pop music, classic country, honky tonk, and punk rock. Early life Loveless was born in Cosho ...

Neko Case Neko Richelle Case (; born September 8, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case has a powerful, untrained contralto voice, which has been described by contemporaries and cr ...

Kathryn Calder Kathryn Jane Calder (born June 17, 1982) is a Canadian indie rock musician, who performs as a solo artist, and is a member of the bands The New Pornographers and Frontperson. She is a former member of Immaculate Machine. Calder started with The ...

, and

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury and ...

. It was produced by Dean Falcone, who also wrote the film's score. One Voice was released on

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

, April 16, 2016, with profits from the sale of the single going to benefit animal charities.

Critical response

Writing on The Movie Guys website, Ray Schillaci said, "Where many could have focused on the cruelty and the perpetrator, Bechard chooses to highlight the fight against such viciousness, the happiness and companionship that blossoms, and the bureaucratic struggles to achieve what is right. It’s a wonderful and beautiful testament to Gucci, his owner, and all other animals and the people that care for them." Joey Kennedy, in the Animal Advocates of Alabama website, said, "Perhaps what is so remarkable about the film is how well Bechard is able to convey Gucci's charming personality. Bechard never met the dog, yet viewers left the theater feeling as if they had known Gucci personally. It would have been easy for Bechard to slip into over-sentimentality, but he doesn't. The story itself, especially as told mostly by James, is powerful enough without gimmicks." Ralph Tribbey, in the DVD & Blu-Ray Release Report, called it "a heartfelt tale of love, kindness and a story of a man and his dog ... a man and his dog on a very special mission." Jonathan Tressler, in the ''News-Herald'', called it, "shocking, yet inspirational." Amos Lassen called the film, "a positive and uplifting look at one victim who went on to become a hero. The story is one of triumph." Writing in Diversity Rules Magazine, Jim Koury called it, "timely and poignant".

References

External links

* *

at "AL.com"

at ''One Green Planet''

at "Washington Times" {{DEFAULTSORT:Dog Named Gucci American documentary films 2015 documentary films Documentary films about dogs Documentary films about animal rights Films directed by Gorman Bechard Films about animals Animal rights mass media Alabama law Ohio law Films set in Alabama Documentary films about Alabama 2010s English-language films 2010s American films