MOLLY Shannon is wonderful as a woman pushed over the edge by the death of her pet in “Year of the Dog,” a very low-key, well-acted dramedy that represents the directorial debut of actor-screenwriter Mike White.

It’s not the rom-com the ads suggest, though the death of her beloved dog, Pencil, encourages Shannon’s character Peggy, a spinster office worker, to tentatively pursue a couple of wildly inappropriate men.

A boorish neighbor (John C. Reilly) turns out to hate animals, and a sweet animal-shelter worker (Peter Sarsgaard) of ambiguous sexual orientation hooks her up with a dangerous replacement canine.

The latter turns Peggy onto vegetarianism and animal-rights causes – which makes for amusing confrontations with her uptight sister-in-law (Laura Dern), her hilariously self-absorbed and sex-obsessed co-worker (Regina King) and her painfully insecure boss (Josh Pais).

White, who wrote and acted in “The Good Girl,” “School of Rock,” and “Chuck and Buck,” has a distinctively skewed view of American neuroses, but be warned that his leisurely direction of “Year of the Dog” requires a bit of patience – for which you will be amply rewarded.

YEAR OF THE DOG
Running time: 97 minutes. Rated PG-13 (sexual suggestiveness). At the Lincoln Square, the Chelsea, the Angelika.