IF you cried watching David Frankel’s Marley And Me, be prepared for Lasse Hallstrom’s tearjerker, A Dog’s Purpose. Its premise is interesting: A dog goes through several reincarnations from the 1960s to the 2000s, living and experiencing life as it goes.
Based on the 2010 novel about a dog (voiced by Josh Gad) by W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog’s Purpose is, if you will, a fuzzy cinematic blanket which breezes through even the most emotional of scenes.
In the beginning, the audience is introduced to a stray puppy that narrates his own experience and confusion of being a dog, before he is swiftly caught by a dog catcher. For whatever reason not shown in the film, the nameless pup then wakes up as a different dog from a different breed. (It’s odd how the film progresses from here but rest assured that the effects will earn some laughter).
In the second reincarnation, our pupper (Internet slang for puppy) is a hyperactive, super cute golden retriever named Bailey. Bailey is adopted by Ethan (the younger version is played by Bryce Gheisar) and he is like a little kid who has too much sugar in his system. With Bailey around, there is never a short supply of house-wrecking incidents. One such scene is when he accidentally swallows Ethan’s dad’s (played by Luke Kirby) priceless coin collection.
A few years have passed and Ethan grows into a teenager (KJ Apa), with a promising future as a college football star. A fire accident derails his athletic career and his father falls deeper into alcoholism. Bailey, on the other hand, struggles to understand the complicated human emotions. He eventually dies of old age.
From then on, he finds himself reincarnated several times, embodying a variety of breeds including a fearless K9 police dog, Ellie, that teams up with ts human partner (John Ortiz), a hilarious Corgi named Tino, who has a hard time climbing down the stairs due to its short legs, and his final reincarnation as Buddy, a scruffy mutt who finds his way back to Ethan (the older version is played by Dennis Quaid).
A Dog’s Purpose is meant to be an inspirational film based on the fact that dogs exist to assist humans. Hallstrom, who also directed the absolute tear-jerker Hachi: A Dog’s Tale starring Richard Gere and Joan Allen, has struck the right chord with its core message on love for animals.
There’s also that budding romance between the teenage Ethan and his high school sweetheart Hannah (Britt Robertson. The older version is played by Peggy Lipton). Never mind the old cliche of and-they-lived-happily-ever-after, the film will have you laugh in times of sadness. It is as if Hallstrom tries to tell his audience that good and bad times will come to pass.
While the human actors give an equally good performance, the stars of the show are obviously the pooches. The dogs are well-trained to handle their scenes and working around people, with just the right touch of curiosity and cute mannerism. Through it all, Josh Gad, who narrates the story (from Bailey’s perspective), deserves some credit for bringing his multiple “dog characters” to life.
With or without the preceeding scandal — where a German Shepherd involved in one of the scenes was seemingly thrown into the water tank after its trainer failed to coax the animal to jump into the water — A Dog’s Purpose is here to stay.
The film is largely enjoyable and a relevant tribute to man’s best friend. You might be surprised by the turn of events but rest assured that it’s all good.
A DOG’S PURPOSE
DIRECTED BY Lasse Hallstrom
STARRING Britt Robertson, Dennis Quaid, Josh Gad, Peggy Lipton
DURATION 101 minutes
RATING P13