The Art of Racing in the Rain Movie Review

The following is a movie review “The Art of Racing in the Rain” by Marc Primo.

Release date: 09 August 2019 (USA)

Director: Simon Curtis

Language: English

Production Companies: 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Original Film, Starbucks Entertainment, Shifting Gears Productions

Producers: Patrick Dempsey, Tania Landau, Neal H. Moritz

SPOILER ALERT—Most movies about man’s best friend often become a hit with a simple formula of letting the audience fall in love with the dog, then breaking their hearts by the end of the film. Simon Curtis’s The Art of Racing in the Rain immediately establishes the sorrow at the beginning of the movie as we mourn how old-age finally catches up with the now grey-furred Enzo, whose tail is too tired to wag and his body weakly seeking warmth from a doormat.

But just like how Pixar’s Up successfully made our tear ducts swell in its first few minutes and gave us a sigh of relief afterwards, so too does this pet movie the moment we meet a bunch of shiny brown puppies.

The film stars Milo Ventimiglia (This Is Us, Creed II, Second Act) as Seattle-based Formula One race-car driver Denny Swift, who is also Golden Retriever Enzo’s best friend. Denny eventually falls in love with the beautiful teacher Eve, who he eventually settles down with. Through the journey of ups and down’s in Denny’s life, Enzo becomes the audience’s narrator through the gruff yet pretty convincing voice of Kevin Costner.

Based on the best-selling novel by Garth Stein, the film adaptation stays true to the family entertainment treatment that makes similar movies become blockbusters. Unfortunately, The Art of Racing in the Rain falls short of reaching that certain peak of sentimentality that often makes the viewers reach for a tissue. Drizzles of varied emotions will pull on viewers‘ heartstrings at a steady pace without ever getting them to that right tear jerking spot. There’s sadness, anger, and hurt which are all essentials for the kind of drama we expect from such films, but everything ends up rather bizarre instead of heartwarming.

Viewers will be able to empathize with how Eve displays reciprocated loyalty for Enzo, or get how the film tries to pack a plethora of life lessons into one package. What they won’t get, however, is how it tries too hard to fashion itself into a major tearjerker with little authenticity.

Not to take away the film’s valiant attempt to make its viewers feel good, but unfortunately, being the usual feel-good film is all that it really is with its fair share of corny scenes and cheesy lines. Dog lovers will certainly find The Art of Racing in the Rain touching and adorable, but it’s definitely not going to cut it for more serious viewers who would probably prefer to watch Will Smith embrace his dog to death in I Am Legend instead, then cry buckets more than they can ever do to this film.

If you want to read the latest movie reviews and find out more about Marc Primo click here.