A Dog's Purpose

⭐5/10

This is a bad movie that I knew was bad, but one of my clients has been telling me to watch it and who am I to say no to an 80 year old anxious woman? We also watched it for Marilla's birthday which was a terrible choice because seeing dogs on screen had Marilla back in 'Nam and she was mostly barking at the screen for two hours straight. 

So this is like a Hallmark movie about a dog who is reincarnated throughout the movie, playing a different role in people's lives. It's a sweet enough premise, I guess, but it got oddly dark at times, as you see puppy mills, animal abuse, and witness dogs die like 4 times. That's exactly what I never want to watch.

 

Still, if you like dogs, it's just hard to resist disliking a movie where you see dogs do wholesome things, and only those without a soul will have dry eyes during those scenes where the dogs are being put down. It's silly and manipulative most of the time, but genuinely sweet at others. 

Josh Gad does the inner monologue for the dog which is so, so awful. Honestly if you cut away his lines and have nothing instead, this movie is much better. Again, this is a bad movie, but I still thought it had a few nice moments that make you want to hug your dog.