Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: The Art of Racing in the Rain (2019)

This is topic The Art of Racing in the Rain (2019) in forum Film Handlers' Movie Reviews at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 08-30-2019, 12:12 PM:

This is one of those movies that gets horrible reviews, does little business, but most of the moviegoers who see it will love it. One critic stated the movie should have been titled: "The Art of Making the Audience Cry."

With the recent rash of dog stories, one thought struck me: If a movie just happens to have a dog in it, the dog will be alive and well at the end of the movie -- often against overwhelming odds. On the other hand, if a movie is ABOUT a dog, in all likelihood the dog will die...if not during the movie itself, than in a a sad epilogue.

As for this movie, it definitely checks-off all the boxes of any dog-centered movie:

- Sad, sentimental and sappy
- Has at least one kid in it
- Dog wrecks the house and/or prized possessions at least once
- Somebody doesn't like the dog at first but then loves it
- Dog saves the day in some fashion
- Health issues and/or death for at least one human character
- Dog is misunderstood (or "knows better") at least once
- Happy ending

Despite all of the above, I really enjoyed the show. It had some great laugh moments, a nice score, and some really cool racetrack scenes (the main human character is an aspiring Formula One racer who is particularly adept at driving in the rain...hence the movie title). From the trailer, I thought I would get tired of Kevin Costner's monotone-ish voicing of the dog's thoughts, but the voice has an endearing quality that grew on me.

So against all odds, and despite the critics, I liked it. 3 out of 4 stars.

Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 08-30-2019, 12:31 PM:

I haven't seen the movie, but I recommend the book (and audiobook) enthusiastically.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 08-30-2019, 02:53 PM:

My wife says the same about the audiobook, she loved it and she really liked the movie too.

I wonder if the title could have hurt the boxoffice on this. It's not catchy, and it's one of those movies that's hard to describe when people ask what it's about.