OBSESSED? MAYBE, BUT DON'T CALL HER CRAZY.

Byline: Glenn Whipp

Film Critic

In Mike White's "Year of the Dog," there's a mother (Laura Dern) who's convinced that the sitter is doping her baby with Benadryl, a numbers- crunching businessman (Josh Pais) with no concept of down time, a lunch-bucket guy (John C. Reilly) who owns enough knives to start his own cutlery emporium and a deluded office worker (Regina King) anxious to marry her boyfriend even though it's clear to everyone that the guy is a two-timing loser.

With a cast of oddballs like this, White wants to know why you think the central character, a dog enthusiast named Peggy (Molly Shannon), is crazy. Because while watching "Year of the Dog," you will think Peggy is a bit ... oh ... eccentric, but, really, is her enthusiasm for animals any freakier than her boss's tireless pursuit of the almighty dollar?

Maybe. Or maybe not. White, the writer of such mainstream hits as "School of Rock" and "Nacho Libre" and darker slices of life like the bittersweet "The Good Girl," leaves the decision up to you. Making his directorial debut here, he doesn't make Peggy all that likable or even understandable. People are strange -- you, me and Peggy included -- and, to quote the late, great John Lennon, "whatever gets you through the night, it's alright, it's alright."

What keeps Peggy going, at least initially, is the limitless love she feels for her cute-as-a-button beagle, Pencil. But Pencil isn't long for this world or this movie, and Peggy has to find a new tenant for the hole in her heart. She makes a connection with Newt (a schlubby Peter Sarsgaard), an asexual animal rights activist who turns Peggy on to the whole vegan thing. He also turns Peggy on, and she doesn't know enough to realize Newt can't possibly reciprocate her feelings.

"Vegan," Peggy muses. "It's nice to have a word that can describe you." Even this late in life, Peggy is looking for such definition.

White charts the course of her awkward first steps toward self-definition, and, in Shannon, he has an actress capable of making you empathize with Peggy and agonize over her smart and foolish choices. Peggy's last decision might seem wrong to you, but it's right for her, which, for White, is the whole point of the film.

Glenn Whipp, [phone]

glenn.whipp(at)dailynews.com

YEAR OF THE DOG - Three stars

(PG-13: suggestive references)

Starring: Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, Peter Sarsgaard.

Director: Mike White.

Running time: 1hr. 38 min.

Playing: ArcLight in Hollywood; AMC Century 15 in Century City; Pacific's The Grove Stadium 14 in Los Angeles; Laemmle's Monica in Santa Monica. Expands citywide April 20.

In a nutshell: Molly Shannon plays a "nutty" dog lady, but she might be the sanest person in Mike White's bittersweet movie that asks us to empathize with others' obsessions.

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Heartbroken from the death of her beloved pet, Peggy (Molly Shannon) tries to fill that empty space with help from animal rights activist Newt (Peter Sarsgaard) in "Year of the Dog."