Underdog

by George Wolf

Underdog may be only 82 minutes, but by the time those minutes are up the film offers you a few possible motivations for its title.

Doug Butler is an underdog in life. His sled dog team is an afterthought in the big race. And the American family farmer faces a constant struggle to survive.

Documentarian Tommy Hyde gives all these themes enough space to hit home, taking an immersive and observational approach while introducing us to one memorable man with a dream. Hyde gives us no setup or leading narration, he just drops us off on a rural farm with Butler and his 22 uniquely named dogs.

We meet the affable Butler as a diary farmer in Middlebury, Vermont. His debts are piling up, his doctor is worried about his health, but the man has a passion for mushing that will not be denied.

“Mushing” is another term for dog sled racing, and Butler feakin’ loves it. “Shit, I’m getting an erection!” he yells as he rides with his pack through the Vermont snow like Santa’s weather-beaten black sheep of a cousin. Still, Butler’s been harboring a dream to take his shot at the big race in Alaska for over thirty years, and Hyde makes us feel lucky that we get to come along for that ride.

I’ve got family in Vermont, and I’ve spent some time visiting a small town about 40 minutes away from Butler’s farm. These people are a breed apart, and Hyde not only frames the landscape well, he lets the locals shine their own subtle light on the way of life they are proudly fighting for.

And Butler is just a GD hoot – a “party on a sled” as one race organizer calls him. Bills be damned – he’s gonna drive his beloved dogs to Alaska, jam out to some classic rock on the way, and charm every last soul he meets.

The guy loves his dogs, he loves his mushing, and he loves his family farm. Underdog makes it nearly impossible to root against him.