Life with Dog

Yes, the character of Joe (Corbin Bernson) is cynical beyond belief. Safe to say, many of us have encountered someone like Joe. They were negative about everything and so draining to be around. It seemed impossible to bring a smile to their face. He's definitely off putting, but this movie has a powerful message and it's worth sticking with to the end. After losing his wife, Alice (Marilu Henner), in a bicycle accident, his mental health starts declining. He spends his days sitting in the living room with the blinds closed, even when it's sunny outside, and he's stopped shaving. When his daughter comes to his house she expresses her immense concern for his psychological well-being, but he doesn't see anything wrong with how he's living. It also doesn't help that he's short-tempered just by nature. He's going down a path of despair, until he encounters a stray dog who won't leave him alone. Over time, the dog becomes part of his life. Throughout the movie, the audience is able to see the dog change Joe's pessimistic outlook. The actors and actresses gave such compelling performances. It's a brilliant movie about forgiveness. Awesome choice for a family movie night.

This movie has a quite compelling ending and films like this require the viewer to be patient as the plot weaves the story together. I thought the acting was ok. Marilu Henner was great and Corbin Bernsen was very good. Gregory Hoyt also did very well at the ending. I was not disappointed by any means and the dog brought a fine touch to a heartfelt topic. It won't win any awards but it is worth watching. Well done.

Maybe 'cause I live w "death out of proper time", I felt this movie dealt w grief & anger quite well. It was real, the plot was Not predictable, and it was well acted. I would have liked to have seen or heard more of a "peace through the storm through faith" message from Alice, as there is a profound difference in grieving w/o faith in God versus trusting God through it. I've done it both ways, thankfully I live through it w God now. Well done on the writing Mr. Bernsen.

The blurb for this film suggests a film about hope and enlightenment. It is nothing of the sort. This is a cynical piece of work with an apoplectic lead who grinds and groans throughout its entirety. It has no redeeming qualities. None. It's 100 minutes of misery without a shred of levity or pathos. A protagonist so thoroughly detestable you feel nothing but jaded. A dog of a movie indeed. Skip it.

A pretty decent film with good acting. Beautiful story about love, loss, grief, forgiveness, and finding your way back from the depths of depression. It's also a beautiful story about how dogs can find you at just the right moment and help you work through your grief.

Those that gave it a 1 star truly don't understand this type of film. One even gave it one star because it had a ghost and she didn't think that was biblical. I mean really???

This type of film actually requires you to put yourself in the shoes of the main character and feel what they're feeling. This is a film of great depth. Give it a chance, you'll enjoy it.