A Dog's Purpose
(2017)Every dog happens for a reason.
With an ensemble cast featuring Dennis Quaid, Britt Robertson (Tomorrowland) and the voice of Josh Gad (Frozen), A Dog's Purpose follows a dog as he tries to discover his purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes and owners.
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Directed by Lasse Hallström ('What's Eating Gibert Grape', 'Chocolat', 'The Cider House Rules')
Starring Britt Robertson, Josh Gad, Dennis Quaid, Peggy Lipton, K.J. Apa, Juliet Rylance, Luke Kirby, John Ortiz, Pooch Hall
Written by Cathryn Michon (based on the novel of the same name by W. Bruce Cameron)
Flicks Review
BY Aaron Yap Flicks Writer
If you’re someone who’s willing to risk life and limb to photographically preserve the souls of random canine passers-by on your Instagram, it’s likely that A Dog’s Purpose would appeal to that level of fanaticism. But even so, sometimes too much is too much, and this exercise in pupper schmaltz has definitely hit my ceiling. You’ll probably find more emotionally nuanced pet clickbait around.... More
Simultaneously pawing away at my blubbering heart and testing the patience of my critical faculties, Lasse Hallström’s obscenely drippy film offers the fantastical notion of a dog (voiced by Josh Gad) discovering the meaning of its existence over several decades of birth, death and incarnation. It’s feelgood fare that actually makes you feel icky just for how mercilessly calculated and telegraphed each of its tear-jerking beats are.
A Dog’s Purpose begins innocuously enough as a '60s-era boy-meets-dog tale straight from the Lassie playbook, following the budding love affair between 8-year-old Ethan (Bryce Gheisar) and his golden retriever Bailey. The baton is then passed onto teenaged Ethan (Riverdale’s KJ Apa), whose high-school life is crammed with hackneyed drama: meet-cute romance, parents separating and a house fire that leaves his promising football career shattered.
Bailey’s subsequent incarnations — German Shepherd, Welsh Corgi and Bernese Mountain Dog — aren’t afforded the same level of attention, as the film races through, and repeats its dog-is-cute-then-dog-dies schtick to reach a predictably spirit-boosting conclusion. There’s some earnestly intentioned statement about the empathetic nature of dogs in all of this, but A Dog’s Purpose is more a saccharine testament to the sheer power of sad puppy eyes to clobber you into submission.Hide
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A Dog's Purpose
The Press Reviews
All the emotional resonance of a dog-themed novelty coffee-table book. Full Review
By the end, I was worn out by all the selfless devotion, all the joyous running across meadows and wheat fields while the camera soars as high as a dog's love for his human. Full Review
Clumsily manipulative dreck. Full Review
It's hard to fault the movie's earnestness; Hallström's canine cinema pedigree (which includes the superior "Hachi: A Dog's Tale") shows through; and Rachel Portman's score is understandably sentimental without going completely saccharine. Full Review
While the human performers are more than adequate, there's no doubt that the canine stars carry the day. Their utter irresistibility helps a long way in terms of getting past the corny plot machinations of A Dog's Purpose. Full Review
A manipulative script about dog reincarnation that whacks your emotions like a piñata - that's forgivable. But no mercy for a film charged with canine abuse behind the scenes. It shouldn't happen to a dog. Full Review
All that reincarnating is hard work, and watching it unfold is a slog too. Full Review
It's hard to avoid repetition with this premise - even Bailey sounds a touch weary saying "here we go again" each time he's reincarnated. Full Review
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