Don’t let its ridiculous premise fool of you, Strays might just be one of the funniest movies to be released this year. From the same demented minds that brought the world Cocaine Bear, Strays is an R-rated comedy that you simply need to check out. If you aren’t familiar with it, Strays is about a group of mischievous dogs that have embarked on a grand adventure to help their friend get revenge on his previous owner who abandoned him.
Given the movie’s premise, it’s no surprise that the film is loaded with hilarious moments. From foul-mouthed puppies to dogs with sinister secrets, here are our picks of the ten funniest moments from Strays.
10 Playing Fetch with Doug
The movie establishes the kind of relationship that Reggie and Doug have very early on. While Reggie may think Doug is a loving and caring owner, this couldn’t be further from the truth. This becomes pretty clear during the scenes wherein the two are playing fetch.
When Doug becomes fed up with Reggie, he decides to try and ditch the dog by distracting him with a game of fetch and then driving away. Despite how sad this moment should be, it’s hilarious how Reggie manages to keep finding his way back to Doug.
9 Hunter Refuses to Stand Up for Himself
One of the dogs that Reggie meets in the city is a Great Dane named Hunter. Despite his size, Hunter is a real pushover that pretty much lets everyone walk all over him. This becomes hilariously clear when one of the dogs at the dog park starts messing with Hunter.
Aside from refusing to fight back, Hunter even apologizes for getting in the dog’s way. When Hunter’s friends urge him to not let other dogs treat him that way, he attempts to stand up for himself by trying to confront the other dogs. This goes horribly wrong as he ends up asking the dog for their weekend plans instead.
8 Reggie Begins to Understand His Situation
After Doug manages to get rid of Reggie, the newly abandoned dog finds himself lost and alone in the city. However, he fails to realize what’s actually happened as he still believes Doug is going to come back for him. Luckily, Bug is there to explain things to him. Bug, a small yet spunky Boston terrier, teaches Reggie the ins and outs of being a stray.
Bug explains that Reggie can now pretty much own anything he wants — as long as he pees on it. Despite how juvenile this may seem, this moment does a good job when it comes toeing the line between crude humor and creating genuinely funny moments.
7 The Strays Become Friends Forever
After learning the ropes of being a stray, Reggie makes a strange suggestion to his newfound friends. Given that peeing on something entails that you own it, Reggie suggests that they all urinate on each other as a sign of their special bond and friendship. While the other dogs are unsurprisingly opposed to this, they don’t want to make Reggie feel like his idea is dumb, so they go along with it anyway.
Reluctantly, the four dogs arrange themselves in a way that puts them within reach of the dog beside them and begin to pee on each other. Aside from being funny, this scene was oddly heartwarming as the dogs, as true friends should, are not beyond putting themselves in uncomfortable situations if it means being there for their friend.
6 Reggie’s Goal
Once Reggie realizes how badly Doug treated him, he’s filled with rage. So much so that he’s decided to commit himself to one goal: bite Doug’s genitals off. Now, we don’t know what this is ultimately supposed to mean considering the film is a metaphor for toxic relationships but this doesn’t prevent this scene from being one of the funniest ones in the film. Despite being set up as an aspiring moment wherein Reggie makes a life-changing realization, the film pulls a fast one on viewers and reveals Reggie’s true intentions.
5 Humans Keep Their Dogs Around for Their Poop
One of the best things about movies like Strays is that it gets to explore common human practices and view them in a new light. A great example of this is Bug’s theory on why humans keep dogs around. Bug acutely pointed out that humans are seemingly always ready to pick up their feces. He assumes that this is because dog poop is actually a valuable ingredient for making chocolate.
4 Serial Killer’s Dog
Considering that the film is produced by the same people behind the dark comedy Cocaine Bear, it isn’t at all surprising that the film also features a similar brand of comedy. Reggie and the other dogs eventually run into a peculiar dog that seems to only be concerned with narrating everything his owner does.
Bug points out that he’s probably one of those “narrator dogs” and tells Reggie to ignore whatever he’s saying. However, the dog soon reveals that this is a mistake as he goes on to admit that his owner is actually a serial killer who’s managed to hide three bodies in his yard. The randomness and pure absurdity of this scene are what make this one of the funniest parts of the movie.
3 Reggie Comes Up with a Plan to Escape
If you’re not a fan of toilet humor, then Strays might not be for you. One of the highlights of the movie has to be when Reggie manages to convince all the dogs at the shelter to poop in unison in order to cause a big enough of a commotion to distract the security guard. Aside from the montage of dogs pooping to Fergie’s hit song London Bridge, the “inspirational” speech that Reggie gives the dogs to rally them into a pooping frenzy also deserves some attention.
Aside from the fact that movies with talking animals will never not be funny, the way Will Ferrell can deliver an inspirational speech convincing dogs to defecate extra hard in the same manner as a general trying to rally his troops is up there when it comes to the most absurd scenes in a movie.
2 The Magic Fence Is Real
The strays encounter a British bulldog named Chester out on his owner’s yard.The dogs egg Chester on and try to get him to come out with them. Despite wanting to leave with the strays, Chester is convinced that he’s surrounded by an invisible magical fence. The strays manage to convince Chester that the fence doesn’t exist.
This prompts him to try and run out of the yard. However, it’s revealed that Chester actually has a device on his collar that immobilizes him if he ever steps out of the yard. He is stopped in his tracks and the strays are now all convinced that there’s a magical fence that protects the yard.
1 The Dogs Find Magic Mushrooms
One of the best things about Strays is that it isn’t afraid to lean into its low-brow and raunchy schtick. No scene exemplifies this more than the mushroom scene. When Reggie’s journey back to Doug brings them to the forest, things take an interesting turn when the group stumbles upon a smattering of magic mushrooms.
Unaware of the mushroom’s psychoactive properties, the strays feast on the mushrooms and are soon engaged in a full-on trip. While frolicking through the woods, the dogs stumble upon “toys” that look like plush bunnies. Naturally, the toys play with them and chew them up.
When the effects of the mushrooms subside, the dogs are shocked to find that the toys they were playing with were actual rabbits that they’ve managed to ravage throughout the night. Guilt-stricken because of what they’ve done, the dogs bury the rabbits and hold a memorial service for their recently deceased furry friends. Despite being a little dark, this might just be the funniest scene in the movie due to how ridiculous it is.
