Dog Baseball attacks two of the passions that are dearest to Americans with humour and affection: dogs and baseball – although to appreciate this exercise, it would be better to prefer dogs. The video delicately parodies what could be called the “American way of having fun”, combining rustic landscapes with the monotonous narration of William Wegman, who casts himself as a rather blasé television presenter.
An initial comic tension emerges from the projection of typical human behaviour onto dogs: playing a team sport, following the rules and following a certain kind of decorum (obviously foreign to the dogs, who turn out to be quite bad losers). A second tension then arises from the striking parallel between dogs and children, whose parents also take them out on Saturday afternoons so that they can participate in fun group activities where they can socialise. The “parents” passionately follow the game (which clearly doesn't have the same meaning for dogs as for humans) whose action is portrayed as being heroic. The editing is incisive; the supporting soundtrack is caricatured. It is tempting to add that this production could be a sort of irresistible and distant American cousin to Monty Python's Philosophers' Football Match (1972).

Manon Schwich
Translated by Jo Garden