Parents' Guide to Domino: Battle of the Bones

Wobbling lazily between good-hearted fun and crude humor filled with long, dead stretches, this competition-based comedy might have been charming enough to succeed with just a little more care. Perhaps the main problem with Domino: Battle of the Bones is that it has too many cooks: There are no fewer than three credited directors. It also goes on far too long (109 minutes), there are too many unfunny jokes, and too many pointless scenes are allowed to remain intact. Certain ideas are repeated many times as if they're supposed to be funny -- such as Walter's financial troubles and Tenspeed's cocaine use -- even though they're not.

As the movie goes on, certain characters open up, adding a little sweetness. For example, Gerald and Andy start to bond, and Camila and her father are finally able to open up to one another. And Snoop Dogg practically steals the entire movie in just a couple of scenes while seated at a desk (he probably shot all of his scenes in an hour). But, unfortunately, too much of Domino: Battle of the Bones goes a little too far into stereotype, tastelessness, and humorlessness. Perhaps most disappointingly, despite Snoop's quick domino primer, the movie doesn't seem to care at all about the game itself, barely showing the games in play and not providing enough information to generate any suspense. The movie could have been a win, but instead it topples.