A Dog's Purpose

This review may contain spoilers!

I've seen a lot of dog films that have really surprised me over the past few years, sadly this wasn't one of them. I would give A Dog's Purpose a 4/10.

This is a really good-natured film that will make you fall in love with the numerous cute dogs and bond well to the message of living a full and happy life. The film has a real solid first act where it focuses upon Bailey's relationship with his human owner, Ethan. It's a very enjoyable story of a boy growing up and nurturing a genuine friendship with his pet companion, and as the story progresses to his teenage years you are treated to some very realistic experiences in life for both dog and owner. I enjoyed that the film felt it could be open about some issues such as the dangers of alcoholism and the impact this can have on a family. The music for the film was very light and kept your spirits high throughout; while the soundtrack did a great job of placing you within the differing time periods.

Bryce Gheisar, who played Ethan - 8 Years Old, is a brilliantly charming child actor; Gheisar really gives this film the heart it needs to kick the film off. K.J. Apa, who played Teen Ethan, reall carries the mantle on from Gheisar and forms a bond with his canine companion that feels truly genuine; Apa is a very heroic figure who handles scenes in which he must fend off his drunk father just as well as the ones in which he must sullenly deal with a lifelong injury. Luke Kirby, who played Ethan's Dad, is quite as the stiff father figure opposed to a pet at first; yet where Kirby shines are the scenes in which we see the self-loathing man spiral deeply into his alcoholic rages and depression. Kirby Howell-Baptiste, who played Maya, is a role that is nothing but energy which seems to suit Howell-Baptiste quite well; the way she moved between a very bubbly persona to more of a nervous wreck felt very realistic.

However the best performance came from Josh Gad, who voiced Bailey, Buddy, Tino and Ellie. What this film needed from a role like this was a soft presence who felt kind and was also a person that could make you laugh. Which is Gad perfectly. This is a witty role chiefly because you find moments taken from the dog's perspective to be a lot of fun and quirky. I also felt that in a film where the main theme is around happiest even in the face of some pretty dismal moments you need a voice you can sympathise with.

You can't expect a movie where the central protagonist is a dog to be award-winning; frankly I feel that a lot of live-action dog films tend to follow very similar formulas. This film has been one of the most predictable ones I've seen in recent years, it plays cute and cuddly but never takes risks or tries to get creative. The second and third acts get progressively worse and worse with each new life the dog goes through; this is mainly because some of these lives don't actually benefit the story in any way shape or form. The final act when the dog tries to reveal to his owner that he's the same dog is a truly cringeworthy moment, it's just one of those moments where the film pushes the envelope a bit too far. The cinematography suffers because it follows around an animal protagonist; often you get pulled straight out of some scenes or the camera has to move in a way that doesn't feel natural. The editing is slow and doesn't advance the story well, it's the sort of film you could easily fall asleep watching on a lazy evening.

Dennis Quaid, who played Adult Ethan, just looks like he's cashing it in throughout this film; he barely puts any effort into the scenes that he's in. Peggy Lipton, who played Adult Hannah, has a performance not wildly dissimilar from Quaid; her romance subplot with Quaid is incredibly forced and doesn't have the emotional payoff that the writer clearly hoped it would. Juliet Rylance, who played Ethan's Mom, lacked the screen presence throughout this film; Rylance didn't do much to add to the alcoholism or the main dog storyline. Gabrielle Rose and Michael Bofshever, who played Grandma Fran and Grandpa Bill respectively, were very minor roles with only a light presence in the Ethan storyline; the felt as if they were stereotypical grandparents and neither of the performers tried to break this mold at all. Britt Robertson, who played Teen Hannah, really didn't push to make too much of a mark upon this film; Robertson was quite a stock bubbly teen girl who didn't extend much further than being a love interest for Apa. Logan Miller, who played Todd, was a simple kind of antagonist who turned from annoying sidekick to arsonist far too quickly; Miller's rather camp attempts at playing up the jerk teen role felt like he was hearkening back to his Disney Channel days. Pooch Hall, who played Al, really has no chemistry with Howell-Baptiste but they push a relationship subplot anyway; really Hall just doesn't put much energy into his scenes which pales in the face of what his co-star is bringing to each scene she's in. John Ortiz, who played Carlos, has one of the more lacking segments of the film due to his character having very little depth; Ortiz's stony police officer with a tragic backstory was a pretty heavy handed cliche. Peter Kelamis and Caroline Cave, who played Dad's Boss and Boss' Wife respectively, were just cheap gag characters; the way their scene played out felt like it was out of some dumb slapstick comedy.