Dog Gone – Movie Review
Director: Stephen Herek
Writer: Nick Santora (Screenplay)
Writer: Pauls Toutonghi (Book)
Cast
- Rob Lowe (The Outsiders)
- Kimberly Williams-Paisley (Father of the Bride)
- Johnny Berchtold (Gaslit)
- Susan Gallagher (Cobra Kai)
Plot: Based on the true story of a father and son who repair their fractured relationship during a forced hike of the Appalachian trail to find their beloved lost dog.
Runtime: 1 Hour 35 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Dog Gone starts as a college student Fielding (Berchtold)) adopts a puppy to get him through the college experience. Fielding and Gonker become best friends but when he graduates, Fielding finds his life with a direction. He moves back home with his parents Father John (Lowe) and Mother Jenny (Williams-Paisley).
Back home the family learns that Gonker has medication that needs a monthly shot. However, life becomes more complicated for the family when Gonker goes missing on the Appalachian trail. Fielding and his father must put aside their differences in the race to find Gonker for his monthly shot.
Verdict on Dog Gone
Characters
Fielding is a college student, he decides to adopt a puppy to keep him company and hopefully meet girls. The two grow an incredible bond until it gets time to graduate and he doesn’t know where to go next. He moves home with his parents as he tries to put everything back together in his life, despite having a strained relationship with his father. When Gonker runs away, Fielding gets a chance to build his relationship with his father.
John is Fielding’s father, he has expected him to take his education and jump into the job market. He gets used to Gonker welcoming him into the household. When Gonker goes missing, he uses his knowledge to help Fielding find the dog before time runs out and learns what his son wants from his life.
Jenny is Fielding’s mother that has her own memories of a connection to a dog from her youth. She can’t wait to have Gonker in the home and once he goes missing, she leads the search from home.
Performances
Johnny Berchtold is the lead in the movie and gets to show us how uncertain young people can be after college. He brings youthful joy to the role while handling the serious side of everything.
Rob Lowe comes off as a stricter figure who is more about the love he has for his son. He does bring a charm to everything, as he shows what his character wants most from his son.
Kimberly Williams-Paisley is the concerned mother that gets obsessed with finding the dog, she shows that in every scene of the movie.
Story
The story follows a family that comes together when their beloved dog goes missing on the Appalachian Trail. It creates a bond between the dog and a young man, as the family relationship gets a chance to rebuild. This shows how one man and his dog create a new bond that makes them inseparable.
The movie gets to use one of the easiest bonding stories and pulls at the heart strings of uncertainty. Any dog owner knows the pain of losing a dog, but one running away and the desperate search is just as difficult. Outside of the dog story, we get a father-son relationship that needs rebuilding.
This might well end up following a traditional story and it manages to get everything right. It is enjoyable and gives us a story that we can support the characters along the way.
Where to Watch: Dog Gone is available on Netflix Now.
Final Thoughts – Dog Gone pulls on the dog owner’s heart strings.
