A Dog's Purpose Review
PG: Thematic Elements and Some Peril
Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Walden Media, Pariah
1 Hr and 40 Minutes
Cast: K. J. Apa, Britt Robertson, Dennis Quaid, Peggy Lipton, Juliet Rylance, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Logan Miller, Bryce Gheisar, Pooch Hall, John Ortiz, and the voice of Josh Gad
REVIEW: Who knew a January movie about dogs would be one of the first most controversial films of the year. You know the story. You saw the articles and let me say, I find this all to be nothing more than a sack of crap. Seriously people? You have a heavily edited video from no other than TMZ (who I have no idea why would they be at the production site of A Dog’s Purpose) of a PROFESSIONALLY TRAINED German Shepard not wanting to do the scene in ARTIFICIAL RUNNING WATER. Is this movie seriously even worth it? Is it worth all the controversy? Even in the second part of the video everyone went after the dog. They obviously cared about it's well being. It’s like trying to force your dog to take a bath with the water running. If I do that with my aunt's dog (which is a Yorkie Shitzu) is that animal abuse? Besides me putting my two cents into this controversy that groups of people (especially PETA) are blowing way out of proportion. I would like to clarify that I don’t review movies based off of controversies. I am not biased where I let a story of a production judge my personal thoughts of any given film. So excuse me for maintaining my format towards my review of Universal’s A DOG’S PURPOSE.
A devoted dog (Josh Gad) discovers the meaning of its own existence through the lives of the humans it teaches to laugh and love. Reincarnated as multiple canines over the course of five decades, the lovable pooch develops an unbreakable bond with a kindred spirit named Ethan (Bryce Gheisar). As the boy grows older and comes to a crossroad, the dog once again comes back into his life to remind him of his true self.
THE GOOD: From watching the trailer the first thing you notice is that the film is narrated by this dog named Bailey voiced by Josh Gad. Gad has voiced a lot of characters in his career whether it be a memorable character (such as Olaf) or a not so memorable character (such as that mole hog in Ice Age 4. It’s okay nobody cared.) his voice is fun to listen to. Even though there is a lot of screaming, Gad knows how to pull through great voice acting even with this. It is his voice carries the movie. For him portraying this dog, he maintains a calm yet playful voice throughout. All the jokes whether being corny of comical is well delivered from him. I can just envision Josh Gad getting fancily dressed to go to the recording session of this movie and give such a soothing narration like he’s narrating an episode of Nature for PBS. Hey, it was originally going to be Bradley Cooper as Bailey. Cooper is a great actor and all, but it’ll be heard to sell his voice as a dog. We’re already so attached to him voicing a raccoon already.
If you are a dog person, this movie will have you at “aww” from the first frame to the last. As a guy who prefers dogs more than any other pet, it was hard to refrain from easy heartwarming moments and outbursts of “aww.” The film is cute yet manipulative and cheesy without a doubt. But it’s a cute kind of manipulative cheese that just easily cuddles up to your heart no matter how tough you try to be. Similar to owning an actual dog. I’m a sensitive guy and can be easily manipulated by the elements of a film, but I’m smart enough to tell if the movie is being genuine or manipulative. Despite it being manipulative, I was on the verge of tears several times. When you have a movie that is about the reoccurring reincarnation of a never dying dog like he’s Dogtor Who, you will tear up.
THE BAD: What is weird about these family films centered on dogs is that you could have it be about anything and it’ll still classify as a PG rated film. Like films such as Shiloh or Max, the film features pretty dark elements revolving around the adults more so than the dog at times. It’s weird too because Bailey’s first owner, Ethan got him by committing a crime. His mom saves this dog from death by breaking into someone's car in broad daylight. You have scenes of crime, death, spousal abuse, death, OH and more DEATH which is conceptually uncomfortable to sit through. One of the lives of Bailey has a tragic ending that you makes you go “damn,” but yet the film plays it so lightly. It just flash cuts to a fluorescent blue stream that leads you to Bailey’s next life while you know that he just died. It has dark elements but plays it with a light tone. It has good intentions introducing Bailey as a different breed of dog with a different owner, but you also want to know what happened to the previous owner after Bailey dies. But then again you probably wouldn’t want to see the depression of a man after a dog’s death. God forbid they show a funeral scene for one of many deaths of Bailey. The theater floor would’ve been flooded with tears if they did. Especially when this, A Dog's Purpose is a family film.
The film has some obvious technical flaws regarding both camerawork and editing. There are brief shots that don't follow the flow of continuity that it’s easy to point out some of the time. The film has some POV shots from the dog as you would expect. You even get a brief impressive shot through the dog’s nose. But tell me why when it shows a POV shot from the dog after he gets out of the water, there are watermarks on the camera’s lens. A dog wouldn’t see water through its eyes. They’ll try to wipe it out. It doesn’t stay consistent with that as well.
The human actors give strained albeit passable performances for you can tell that they aren’t the centerpiece of this tale (well maybe except for John Ortiz who puts his everything into it). Though they give fine performances, their characters are really bland. They all feel like characters that came out of a Nicholas Sparks novel and this dog is the greatest matchmaker of the history of time. And if the dog is not playing cupid for his owners he’s also the mystical magical mutt who helps people get on the right track with their lives. It kept staying in the realm of cheesy and schmaltzy without reaching to any new heights. It kept feeling like a Hallmark or Lifetime movie that was just released on a big screen.
But then you wonder who is the helm of this production and the answer would be Lasse Hallström who did two Nicholas Sparks adaptions, three films centered on dogs, and several relatively good films such as What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. With this film Hallström channels a majority of overabundance with sentimentality mixed with good elements of storytelling that feels genuine (more especially towards the final act of the movie) while being a movie centered on a dog. If A Dog’s Purpose was Lasse Wallström’s sendoff, this would be a nicly wrapped bow to everything in his filmography.
THE RENDY: That is with the casting of this film? It was weird seeing the number of recognizable actors in this to even Dennis Quaid and for a brief moment that concludes Bailey’s journey, but what got to me was seeing Pooch Hall in this. Ha ha, A Dog’s Purpose features an actor named Pooch Hall, but it was just weird because he just finished the CW turned BET series The Game not so long ago and the next thing I see him in is this and it’s not for so long. It was a “so that’s what he’s doing now” type of deal.
LAST STATEMENT: As manipulative as it is, A Dog’s Purpose is an overall harmless and heartwarming film that will tug at the heartstrings of kids, their parents, and dog lovers everywhere. For the average moviegoer, this is not for you.
Rating: 3/5 | 64%
Super Scene: Bailey plays matchmaker for older Ethan
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Voice of Josh Gad | Dark Elements While Maintaining Light Tone |
| CUTE DOGS THAT MAKE YOU GO AWWWWWWWW |
SO MUCH DOGGY DEATHS |
| Lasse Hallström direction | Throughly Cliched Story |
| Story Between Old Ethan and Bailey |
Manipulative Emotions |
| Passable Performances from Entire Cast | Shot Composition Choices |
| Editing Flaws |
