That can happen sometimes to movies that are largely improvised. Both of those films dealt with a group of people working together in a world with which we have at least a passing familiarity. Levy, playing another of his classic polyester nerds, and O'Hara, as his vivacious wife, own a Norwich terrier about which they write cutesy little songs. Posey and Hitchcock portray yuppies who worry about bruising the psyche of their Weimaraner and annoy each other almost as much as they annoy us. McKean and John Michael Higgins play a gay couple who own a pair of Shih Tzus.
Guest plays a fishing-shop owner with a prize bloodhound.
Jennifer Coolidge, as the voluptuous young wife of a wealthy old coot, hires Jane Lynch to be the handler of her two-time champion poodle. We meet them in faux interviews during which the actors have improvised details of their backgrounds. But the characters, and their relationship with their dogs, seem exaggerated enough that Guest seems to be emphasizing the mockery at the expense of the reality behind the humor. The movie coalesces when they get to the dog show and begin interacting. The reality sets in on the day of the big event, with its pomp and circumstance, grim-faced judges, precise rituals and backstage primping.