Reviewer’s grade: B+
Every dog has its day. For Noodles, an elongated, brown, speed demon dachshund from Huntington Beach, Calif., that day was Sept. 26, 2004 “? the day Noodles was declared, officially, top dog. Noodles was the 2004 winner of the Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals, held annually at the Los Alamitos race course in Southern California.
The dachshund’s rise to the top of the weenie dog racing circuit “? and the plight of his owners, fans and detractors “? are detailed in “Wiener Takes All: A Dogumentary,” a hilariously quirky documentary about the competitive (and strange) world of dachshund racing, playing Thursday through Sunday at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art in conjunction with Oklahoma Gazette’s 2008 Dachshund Dash.
Much of the mania captured in the 97-minute film centers around a double dog rivalry that, to a select crowd of wiener dog racing enthusiasts, reaches Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier proportions. “Wiener Takes All” has tons of funny bark and comedic bite. NR
“?Joe Wertz
This article appears in May 14-20, 2008.