A DOG’S PURPOSE
Director: Lasse Hallstrom
Cast: Josh Gad (voice), K. J. Apa, Dennis Quaid, Peggy Lipton, Bryce Gheisar, Juliet Rylana, Luke Kirby, Gabrielle Rose
Rating: (PG)
Four stars (out of five)
The concept is that one dog keeps being reborn in various doggie guises and each new set of circumstances has him or her pondering what it is all about. The first life is short, the second seems equally unpromising but, by some miracle, the dog finds a boy, Ethan (Bryce Gheisar), acquires the name Bailey and settles in for a life full of love.
Teenage Ethan (K.J. Apa) finds a girlfriend Hannah (Britt Robertson), who loves Bailey, but when things start to go wrong a dog can no longer solve all his problems. When his time is up Bailey is sad to go but he knows he has been a good dog so he is surprised to find that there is more: he is now a she, Ellie, and a German shepherd police dog no less. Life is no longer about playing and making a boy happy, she has work to do searching and fetching for her handler Carlos (John Ortiz).
The German shepherd that plays Ellie has the most bewitching eyes and Ellie soon works her way into his heart. Still the wheel spins again, and Ellie becomes Tino, a cute little dog who has it made with Maya (Kirby Howell-Baptiste). It is a good life, but could there be another chance with Ethan?
- Christine Powley
