Dog Days

By RICHARD SCHICKEL

TURNER & HOOCH

Directed by Roger Spottiswoode

Screenplay by Dennis Shryack, Michael Blodgett, Daniel Petrie Jr., Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr.

Scott Turner (Tom Hanks) is a tidy bundle of compulsions, the kind of man who gets off on an improved filing system and looks forward to flossing his teeth. Hooch (a mastiff named Beasley) is a messy bundle of sinew and instinct, the kind of dog who lives to wreck your living room and looks forward to sinking his teeth into the necks of people he doesn't like. Also, he drools a lot.

This is obviously not Lassie Come Home; it is the odd couple as crime busters. Turner is a small-town detective, an apt occupation for a man of his temperament. He has placed Hooch, the only witness to his former owner's murder, in protective custody. As the movie's none-too-ambitious mystery plot unfolds, it is Hooch, ferociously loyal to both his former master and his new one, who does most of the protecting. He's obviously never heard of Miranda rights. Not that he is a one-note character: he introduces Turner to romance with the local veterinarian (Mare Winningham), and in moments of repose he has a watchful sobriety that becomes a comment on the human propensity to rush around needlessly. If food, sex or loyalty is not at issue, what's all the excitement about?

Hanks, a wonderfully natural and unpretentious actor, may be the only star capable of holding his own against this competition, even stealing a scene or two from his furry friend. In the end, Turner tames Hooch down, Hooch loosens Turner up, and this little nothing of a movie -- sweeter and smarter than it has a right to be -- may cheer you on through the, uh, dog days. R.S.