270. A Dog's Journey; movie review

A DOG'S JOURNEY
Cert PG
109 mins
BBFC advice: Contains mild threat, emotional scenes

"Hold on, haven't I seen this movie before?", I mused, suffering a throbbing case of deja vu.
It transpires that the story of Bailey, the reincarnated canine, is a follow up to a Dog's Purpose which was the equivalent to a whole year of cinema schmaltz.
And yet, after tut-tutting my way through this sequel, I started welling up.
Yep, I had either overdosed on saccharin or Gail Mancuso's film had broken me down.
The voice of Josh Gad is again lent to the parade of dogs who inherit Bailey's spirit after he departs from his bereft owner (Dennis Quaid).
The movie begins with Quaid's character, Ethan, and his wife (Marg Helgenberger) hosting their recently bereaved daughter-in-law (Betty Gilpin) and young daughter CJ.
Heartbreak follows and Ethan asks the dog to make sure he will protect his grand-daughter.
So, through a series of flukes, coincidences and raw determination reincarnated dog after reincarnated dog sniffs her out.
As CJ (Kathryn Prescott) becomes an adult, the dog is either by her side or reaching out to her as she goes through crises with her mother, uncertainty over her music career and the highs and lows of potential romances.
Henry Lau plays Trent who is a childhood friend who stands by her through all of her turmoil.
And throughout there is a running narrative from Gad which some will find cute while others will deem it laughable.
I loathed A Dog's Purpose but its sequel has a few added layers which spike interest.
I am particularly referring to CJ's family background and the estrangement of her mother from her grandparents.
Thus, A Dog's Journey scores where A Dog's Purpose which was solely centred on the re-incarnation angle didn't.
Ok, it still has the crazy notion of a canine being reborn and being able to find a previous owner but at least there was a little more meat to the story.
It remains gooey and could easily be avoided, but A Dog's Journey is not the worst film of the year or anything like it.

Reasons to watch: Dog-lovers will find it cute
Reasons to avoid: Will be way too slushy for most people

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 6/10

Did you know? Dogs have an incredibly sensitive sense of smell that can detect the odor signatures of various types of cancer. Among others, they can detect colon cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and melanoma by sniffing people's skin, bodily fluids, or breath.

The final word. Henry Lau: "I think everyone after watching this film will feel the same way I felt when I first read the script. I’m just really happy to be a part of such an amazing, heartwarming story.”

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