A Dog's Purpose (2017), PG, ★1/2

Dennis Quaid and his dog.

I wanted to start this review about the controversy surrounding a tape that was leaked from the footage by Universal Pictures that TMZ provided. Before the controversy, I have to admit that I had somewhat of mixed expectations because with dog movies, I am hot-and-cold on those genres because almost every single movie ends with the same sort of ending. However, regarding the controversy, animals right activists were baffled by the dog's treatment of having them being forced to act in a scene surrounding water. I was stunned but not surprised because I knew that obviously when handling a domesticated animal or animal of the sort that they cannot be harmed, otherwise, legal counsel and PETA will go after them. I knew they were being handled by stunt coordinators but I did not like how they execute the idea of treating the dog on set. After watching this movie, it did not make much of a different in "entertainment". This so-called "family film" meanders in tone and plot that I was only watching solely the premise during the whole time and it is manipulative.

The movie starts when we see a retriever named Bailey (voiced by Josh Gad) in the back of a hot pickup truck and Ethan (Bryce Gheisar) and his mom (Juliet Rylance) rescuing him with water and other things and they adopt him. However, there is that cliche in almost every family film that involves a hardworking but alcoholic father that gives a family or his son a rough time and that splits the amicable relationship in the family. With Bailey's help, Ethan is a teenager and meets Hannah (Britt Robertson) at a carnival. And, it does strain a bit because Ethan takes Bailey everywhere. And, then, Ethan's football stardom goes tumbling down due to a prank and then Bailey dies. (Don't worry. It's not a spoiler. It's in the trailer.) However, Bailey is reincarnated throughout another form of a dog.

Yay! A Puppy!

Ok...I felt like I was watching the worst movie of 2017 for the most part because it is an exercise, a repetitive nature, of self-manipulation of having dogs dying and being reincarnated over and over. Now, I have to say, one storyline surrounding a K-9 and a policeman does earn a moment of true sadness but the others were reaching it but I did not feel anything because we knew that it was coming and it becomes another approach to the exact premise. And, like I said in the beginning, I was watching the entire premise and not a complete movie the whole time. This movie is simply vignettes of death and reincarnation and it got tedious and boring.

Now, we have to follow Josh Gad's narration throughout the whole movie and his voiceover is articulated through enthusiasm, sadness and curiosity and it is one of the few good aspects of the movie. The best part, besides the policeman storyline, is the latter third or quarter in which we find Dennis Quaid and Peggy Lipton in a storyline and they both give some solid performances in need and that's where I thought reached a fine level of competence and plot and a bit of character development. However, I thought that older Ethan's storyline is a bit routine in the romantic aspect, but it was interesting at the least. Director Lasse Hallstrom's movie is a big, weird tonal philosophical and psychological approach about a dog's purpose but it tries to take off but crashes but somehow, the engine sputters in the latter third to take off. So, that's what we're left off: a plane's engine sputtering and hovers a bit on the runway but not taking off.

*1/2