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The endangerment of the R-rated studio comedy is baffling and concerning - when did enjoying comedies in a communal setting become so passé? - so it's hard to not root for any one that finds its way into theaters. It's unfortunate to leave the screening of "Strays," the new comedy directed by Josh Greenbaum (who last directed the magnificent and strange fantasia "Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar"), and not want to shout (bark?) its praises from the rooftops. A healthy theatrical ecosystem should have room for a wide range of movies, not just $200 million spectacles, but "Strays" is a deeply unsuccessful comedy from start to finish.

This summer season has seen an uptick in comedies bypassing streaming for theaters. Even though the Jennifer Lawrence-led "No Hard Feelings" was the only successful one, it's been great to see comedy films not get lost in a streaming graveyard. Conversely, and hypocritically, maybe "Strays" should have done just that.

The movie, written by Dan Perrault, is desperate to skate by on its one joke gimmick. Will Ferrell lends his voice to Reggie, a dog whose owner Doug (Will Forte) wants nothing to do with him. Doug is a nasty loser, who blames Reggie for ruining his relationship and causing the downfall of his life, so he drives him far away and abandons him, but Reggie always finds his way home. One day, Doug goes just far enough for Reggie to not be able to get home as fast as he usually does. Along the way he meets fellow strays Bug (Jamie Foxx), Hunter (Randall Park) and Maggie (Isla Fisher), who band together to help Reggie get back home to seek revenge on Doug.

Of the many issues with "Strays," the main one is that it's a movie built on a throwaway joke, which causes Doug's girlfriend to break up with him and spend every day taking it out on Reggie. The movie isn't interested in a fine-tuned screenplay, however, because it relies heavily on dogs swearing and never-ending dog poop jokes to win over audiences. It's lazy and it's tiresome and it's only a 90-minute movie.

Farrell and especially Foxx do their best to liven up a tired screenplay through their voice performances, but they can only do so much when there's barely any material on the page. Farrell plays Reggie with his Buddy the Elf (but R-rated) naiveté and hopeless optimism, and Foxx brings his fast talking comedic styling to Bug. They're both entirely committed and there are occasional glimmers of them being able to elevate the material, but then the script just throws out another bottom of the barrel joke and hopes it lands. They never do.