Walt Disney Pictures’ remake of its questionable 1959 “classic” features an alarming number of serious actors trying to keep a straight face: Danny Glover, Kristin Davis, Philip Baker Hall and Robert Downey Jr., the latter of whom delightfully, repeatedly fails. And then there is star Tim Allen as a family man who turns into a dog. Allen gives the committed, full-throttle performance of a man who knows his career now depends entirely on this sort of middling family fare. You almost, almost, admire his effort.
