Whenever an animal movie comes out, I am always a little weary. Either the movie is great and is a tearjerker or it is so bad that I get distracted by the bird chirping outside. However Dog Gone surprised me. This movie contained both some boring and bland parts but also provided some heartwarming scenes.
Dog Gone is based on a true story about a college student named Fielding who adopts a dog his senior year. He names the dog Gonker. This movie picks up pretty quickly with Fielding finding him at the animal shelter and showing his senior year and Gonker growing all in the span of like 15 min. Fielding’s dad, played by Rob Lowe, and mom, played by Kimberly Williams-Paisley, did not approve of this responsibility. They both want him to figure out his life now that he has graduated. It showed a bunch of compilations with Gonker playing around and getting acclimated to his new home. That is until he is diagnosed with Addison’s Disease. This certain illness requires a monthly shot of medication that if it is not given around the 30-day mark, he can go into Addisonian Crisis which is life threatening. Everything was going great until Gonker ran away while they were on the Appalachian Trail. Why Fielding was walking Gonker without a leash in the middle of the woods, I have no idea and I was pulling my hair out watching it.
The acting in this film was alright. Some parts and sequences were a little forced and unnecessary. John Berchtold, who plays Fielding, is still an up-and-coming actor and for that I gave him props. But compared to his co-stars Rob Lowe and Kimberly Williams-Paisley, it was just a little awkward at times. Don’t get me wrong, he did a pretty good job in this movie, but you can tell he isn’t a seasoned actor. Which is fine and everyone has to start somewhere.
I think this film did okay with its pacing after the first 20 min or so. Like I stated before, they sort of rushed the first part of the movie with Gonker growing up. I wish they spent a little more time on the experiences that Fielding had with his best friend. That is one problem I had with this film, I didn’t seem over attached to Gonker the way I think they tried to make it. I think showing us certain activities that Fielding and Gonker did and maybe going through another little scare early on would have accomplished that.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it was an alright movie with an alright plot that seemed a little vague at times and I never really got attached to any of the characters. I work in the veterinary field and some things in this movie really didn’t seem realistic, but I do understand it is a movie and every movie is going to be like that. I feel like this was aimed more at the younger generation but if you love heartwarming stories about finding lost dogs then this movie is for you! If you don’t then I wouldn’t recommend watching it.
