MRMOVIESETC REVIEWS:
“A Dog’s Journey”
(2019)
"But first, I need to get a few things out of the way. I need to play.
I need to wrestle. I need to bite a few faces."
Just in case you’ve lost track with all of the films that
have come out in the same vain as this one the past few years as quickly as a
kid goes through a Pez dispenser, “A Dog’s Journey” is the sequel to 2017’s “A
Dog’s Purpose”, which are both based on novels written by W. Bruce Cameron; whom
also wrote the book “A Dog’s Way Home” that received its own adapted release in
2019, whilst having nothing to do with these two films. There’s also “The Art
of Racing in the Rain” that additionally came out in 2019 featuring a pup with
an inner monologue, but I know next to nothing about whatever that is supposed
to be.
Hollywood, we get it; people love dogs. Settle down.
***
I do recall being a little harsh on “Purpose” back in
2017 by basically claiming that it was pretty dumb and laid on so much of the
sweetness that I need a dose of insulin afterward. It wasn’t by any means an
awful film, though with the mix of overdone emphasis on reincarnation, destiny,
and dog puns galore, I couldn’t take it seriously no matter how sincere and
heartfelt beats it was trying to hit on the target. The human cast was
certainly game, to give it due credit, and Josh Gad had proven to be an
entertaining voice actor in various different features, so I can’t say I suffered
through it, even if I needed to watch something with a bit more testosterone
afterwards.
“Journey”, or “A Dog’s Purpose II: The Next Generation”,
as either title would appropriately fit the plot, is just about as dumb and
sappy, but I will admit is marginally better all around. I got more laughs out
of it, the spirituality is toned down to a tolerable level, and the character
drama is more engaging to allow for an overall better payoff.
This time around, the story picks up where “Purpose” left
off with Bailey (Josh Gad), the loyal canine friend of Ethan (Dennis Quaid), living
out his days peacefully on Ethan’s farm, as he and his wife Hannah (Marg
Helgenberger) are helping raise their 2-year-old granddaughter, CJ. CJ’s father
has passed away, living her young mother, Gloria (Betty Gilpin), bitter,
clueless, and neglectful. Thinking that her parents are going to take away her
late husband’s life insurance money because reasons – there would be no movie
otherwise - she packs up CJ and heads for New York to pursue a music career. At
this time, it is discovered that Bailey has a tumor, and before he slips away
in death (these films love death), Ethan asks Bailey to find CJ in the next
life and protect her. Following a similar rhythm to “Purpose”, Bailey comes
back, finds CJ, then dies and loses CJ, finds her again, helps piece together
her broken life as she grows up, so on and so forth. Again, ultimately it’s
harmless-ish, regardless of its goofy ideologies.
If anything, where “Journey” struggles the most is in its
focus; particularly around Bailey’s voice over dialogue in an effort to make
sure he has something to contribute. The one-liners do land better in this
film, and there were a couple sprinkled throughout that were genuine
laugh-out-loud moments. Then, equally as often, the script would try to
interject really random jokes from Bailey that had not much to do with anything
going on in that moment, and consequently miss the mark. It’s almost as if the
screenwriters thought the audience would forget this is a movie where a dog can
audibly portray its inner thoughts, so better randomly toss in something that
will make everybody think “Ha, it’s funny because dog stuff!” Maybe that will
payoff better with others than it did for me, but the flow was doing okay
enough on its own that it didn’t require the interruptions.
I won’t spoil the ending, despite it being predictable as
all Hell, but while it’s equal parts groan-worthy and sugary, I couldn’t force
myself to dislike it. It brings the story full circle in a completely logical
way as far as its world is concerned, and I imagine it will leave animal lovers
of all stripes assuredly pleased.
Other than that, there’s not a whole lot more I can say
about this one. Running at nearly two hours, this sequel sails by pretty
quickly without many speedbumps, and while it does play it safe by following a
near-identical structure to tell its tale, “A Dog’s Journey” is a
non-offensive, feel-good conclusion to a film that really didn’t need a sequel,
but makes the first entry almost better because of the boost in character depth
it provides. It’s far from perfect, and while I wish it would have taken way
more chances off the beaten path that it did to create something closer to my
cup of tea, it’s a pretty okay film.
If you liked the first one, check this one out. You’ll
probably like this one, too.
“A Dog’s Journey”: 6.5/10
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