Sunday, December 29, 2024

Movie Review: The Secret Life of Pets

Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: Main characters, humor early on
Cons: Change in tone made much of the movie only okay for me
The Bottom Line:
Pets in NYC
Cuteness in the early scenes
Mostly average




“I’m Never Eating a Pill Like That Again.  Unless It’s Covered in Peanut Butter Because, You Know, Peanut Butter.”

The Secret Life of Pets was one of those movies I never could quite decide on.  The previews made it look like it could be fun, but I was never completely certain what it was about.  I finally caught it on TV.  I wanted to like it more than I did.

Max’s (Louis C.K.) life is good.  He was adopted as a puppy by a wonderful woman whose only flaw is going to work each day.  He’s even made some friends with other pets in the neighborhood, although his favorite activity is sitting by the door waiting for his owner to return home.

One day, she returns home with a brother for Max – Duke (Eric Stonestreet).  Duke is a big dog, and Max doesn’t want to share his home with anyone, especially a big dog like Duke.  However, his attempt to get rid of Duke turns into a war with both of them being chased by New York City dog catchers.  Will they ever get home again?

Most of the scenes from the previews were in the first few minutes of the film.  That can be good because it doesn’t spoil any of the movie, but in this case, it left me with little idea what the film was going to be about.  I will say, I enjoyed these scenes.  In the context of the film, they were even funnier and heartwarming.  They are pure pet cuteness.

However, once the plot kicks in, we lose some of that cuteness.  The story definitely takes some interesting turns, and there are characters who are the opposite of cute.  In fact, a couple scenes might frighten more sensitive kids.

Personally, I didn’t care for those scenes either but for a different reason.  I didn’t find them funny.  In fact, I felt like the first 15 or 20 minutes of the film were from something completely different.  I get what was supposed to be funny in the rest of the film, but to me it wasn’t.  Instead of being more pulled into the film, I actually began to get tired of it.

Still, there were moments late in the film that I did enjoy, and one scene in particular near the end was extremely heartfelt.  I knew what was coming before it happened, but I was still affected by it.

Most kids will enjoy this film, and I can see why it proved popular enough for a sequel.  The change in tone didn’t quite work for me, however.  I wish The Secret Life of Pets had stayed cuter.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by. In order to combat spam, I moderate most comments. I'll get to your comment as soon as I can.