Director: Gil Junger
Writer: Gil Junger (Screenplay)
Starring: Gabriel Bateman, Josh Duhamel, Megan Fox, Madison Horcher, Minghao Hou, Izaac Wang, Kunal Nayyar, Janet Montgomery
Plot: A 12-year-old tech prodigy’s science experiment goes awry and he forges a telepathic connection with his best friend, his dog. The duo join forces and use their unique perspectives on life to comically overcome complications of family and school.
Runtime: 1 Hour 31 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Enjoyable Family Film
Story: Think Like a Dog starts as we meet Henry, a family dog that lives with his human family Oliver (Bateman), Lukas (Duhamel) and Ellen (Fox), he knows they are smart, with Oliver being a genius child who is on the verge of being able to create a mind reader, grabbing the attention of professional scientists, Mr Mills (Nayyar) and Bridget (Montgomery).
After failing to prove his experiment works, he tries it one more time with Henry and ends making it work, being able to communicate with his dog, at the time he needs it most in life.
Thoughts on Think Like a Dog
Characters – Oliver is a genius young boy who has always been trying to create something to change the world, he has used the idea of mind reading, which fails at school, he succeeds with his own dog, being able to communicate with it to deal with a big life issue and growing up, like asking a girl to the dance and dealing with needing to earn respect in the school system. Lukas and Ellen are his parents, they are going through a difficult time, with Oliver working with Henry to try and help fix his parents marriage. Mr Mills is a world-famous billionaire creator, he has always scouted creators around the world to remain on top of the industry and will do anything to prove his brilliance. Henry is the dog of the family, he loves his owner, like every pet, he is narrating the life, through his own eyes, which adds the innocent side to everything.
Performances – Gabriel Bateman is great in the leading role, working well with the connection with the dog, he shows the success and failures of everyday life well through the film. Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox are great together are the parents in the film, with Kunal Nayyar getting laughs with his Elon Musk like character.
Story – The story here follows a genius young boy that is trying to create a mind reading device, which sees him being able communicate with his dog, using this to help fix his parents relationship and learn to take the next steps in his early life. This is a family movie and you can tell by the story, as it shows the struggle through school, the relationship you will have with a pet growing up, while a big change might come in a young life. We get the moments of charm, the moments of fun and the moments that will help Oliver grow. The story is easy to watch and will be one that the whole family can enjoy.
Comedy/Sci-Fi – The comedy in the film is for all ages, some will work, other parts won’t, with the sci-fi side of the film being about how the technology works, we are lucky the film doesn’t try to give us bad effects with unrealistic dog effects, we just have natural dog movements.
Settings – The film uses the settings to show us the everyday life that Oliver and his family live in.
Scene of the Movie – The dog park.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The agent’s group doesn’t get enough screen time.
Final Thoughts – This is a fun family film that could be enjoyed by all, it has the heart, the important life lessons and strong performances throughout.
Overall: Fun Family Film.
Lionsgate UK presents family comedy Think Like a Dog on digital download 6 July and DVD 20 July
