“The Art of Racing in the Rain” Review by Kevin Shanks
September 2, 2019 3:55 pm |
Folks, you may want to grab your tissues for this one. Seriously, I’m not joking. You will cry.
The Art of Racing in the Rain was directed by Simon Curtis and produced by Patrick Dempsey, Tania Landau, and Neal Moritz. The screenplay was written by Mark Bomback and is based on the 2008 Garth Stein novel of the same name.
The story is told from the perspective of Enzo, a golden retriever (his internal monologue voiced by Kevin Costner), as he learns about the intricacy of life and auto racing through his owner, Denny Swift (Milo Ventimiglia), an aspiring Formula One car driver.
Look, I’m an animal lover. I have three cats. I’ve watched every animal-centric movie that has ever existed, which includes the terrible Air Buddies movies all the way to the fantastic Homeward Bound. So, as the movie opened I was afraid of what I had just gotten myself in to. These are minor spoilers, but I was surprised and also instantly sad as the film opens with a near death Enzo lying in a pool of his own urine as he waits for Denny to return home. We get flashbacks to how Denny came to meet a golden retriever puppy he would name Enzo. This is where the movie is at its best – when it shows the joys of life – the bonding of a young puppy and eventual older dog with its owner, its protector.
After a while, someone new enters the picture as Denny meets Eve (Amanda Seyfried) and they fall in love. Eve isn’t a “dog person” and Enzo isn’t an “Eve person”. But things change. And, oh, do they change. Over the course of the next ten years, we watch this family grow and navigate the roller coaster of life – both personally and professionally. We see the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.
I’m not going to spoil this movie in particular for anyone, because I think you should watch this film, but I did have one issue and it involves a plush stuffed toy zebra. I won’t go into any further detail other than to say any time the zebra was referenced or shown on screen, I was taken out of the movie’s world a bit.
If you want a movie to make you feel something, watch The Art of Racing in the Rain. There will be happiness and joy. There will be anger. There will also be large amounts of sadness and despair, so please, remember to put a few extra tissues in your pocket.
PCL Rating: High Taste It
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: FRESH 🍅
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Tags: Kevin Shanks, pop culture leftovers, The Art of Racing in the Rain, The Art of Racing in the Rain movie 2019
Categorised in: Movie Reviews
This post was written by Leftover Brian
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