I
had been wanting to see A Dog's Purpose since I first saw the trailer
before Christmas. I have not read the book, because I have a hard
time reading sad animal books. The movies are easier because I can
just sit and cry if I need to. Reading is hard when you're crying,
which is why I have yet to get past page one of The Art of Racing in
the Rain.
Anyway,
I decided today that I would see A Dog's Purpose. The theatre had
more people in it than I usually have in the movies I've gone to here
in town, and I was surprised by the number of children, considering
this was a movie with a dog that dies over and over.
There
are no spoilers, this detailed description is in the first five
minutes, so that doesn't count as spoilers.
So,
the film starts with a puppy being born. Cute, right? Until it gets
picked up by animal control and euthanized (you don't actually see that part).
Then his spirit goes into a puppy at a puppy mill. The puppy is
overlooked, but escapes and is picked up by two guys that decide to
sell it. They take him, but leave him in their truck where he starts
to die of heat stroke. This is where the main character finds him,
and his heroic mother opens breaks the window and they take him home,
NOT THE VET, and lay him on the ground until he comes around. At this
point I'm not loving the movie, to be honest.
After
this, the movie improves greatly. It alternates between heartwarming,
heartbreaking, and laugh out loud funny. Each different version of
the dog's life is touching, but sad at times, because not all of his lives are as happy as his life with his boy was. I cried each time he
died, which was four times in total. The ending was not a surprise, because the trailer gave it away, but it was touching how it happened.
While
it was a decent film, and poignant, it's not one that I will ever
feel the need to watch again, most likely. I would probably recommend
it animal lovers. I overheard several little girls say how much they
liked it when it was over as they were leaving the theatre, which
surprised me a little as it was a slow mosey of a drama, and not what
I would imagine kids would enjoy.
