‘A Dog’s Journey’ is a sequel that depends a lot more on heart than brains – I’m not about to debate that. The story is designed to elicit weepy, “aw-shucks” reactions from pet lovers with a point of view that’s adorable, but not entirely fresh. At least, not anymore.
But that’s the sourpuss – or critical, if you will – viewpoint. And I can’t honestly say I side with that one. See, I’m a dog person. There are few things that bring me as much joy as seeing the world and its overdose of poo-poo moments through the innocent, playful and relentlessly optimistic eyes of a faithful canine. That’s why I consider….again, with a biased opinion, I fully admit….’A Dog’s Purpose’ as the Citizen Kane of dog films. So naturally, I can’t possibly dislike this follow-up. Not that it doesn’t have faults….it does. But it’s too doggone sweet to dismiss.
A warning to parents….like the original pic, ‘A Dog’s Journey’ features a dog (voiced by Josh Gad) that’s reincarnated again and again with the purpose of protecting and loving on specific humans. That’s a lot for tender little hearts to ingest, so proceed accordingly..
Based on W. Bruce Cameron’s best selling series of books, ‘A Dog’s Journey’ picks up close to where ‘A Dog’s Purpose’ left off, with Bailey the Dog enjoying life with his ‘boy’ Ethan (Dennis Quaid) and Hannah (Marg Helenberger). Hannah’s widowed daughter-in-law Gloria (Betty Gilpin) is also living on their farm, along with her toddler CJ (Emma Volk). But Gloria’s dislike for Bailey (making her an automatic protagonist in this universe), combined with growing domestic frustrations…oh, and a bit of a problem with the bottle….somewhat suffocates the happily in the ever-after subject line of this situation, and the largely neglectful parent packs up her daughter and leaves town, refusing to let Ethan and Hannah know about their next destination. Bailey, sadly dying, is encouraged by Ethan to track down CJ on his return visit to earth and watch over her.
Most of ‘A Dog’s Journey’ takes place with CJ as a young adult (Kathryn Prescott), wrestling with a number of life’s hurdles, as Bailey works through a variety of lives to fulfill his quest. The focus, unlike the first film, is a lot more on the human aspect this time around. Oh, we still love that dog…and the pup is still central to the tale….but there’s more of a connection with the people players in ‘A Dog’s Journey’ – and even though it is a predictable and somewhat kitschy Hallmark-esque presentation – it’s rewarding.
No, I can’t defend the shameless sentimentality that this movie piles on to make things work. Bottom line, though…..it works. And you can’t argue with a grown man’s tears.
