THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN – Review

THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN is the third film I’ve seen theatrically so far this year narrated by a dog. A DOG’S JOURNEY and its cheesy-but-sweet knockoff A DOG’S WAY HOME showed that a dogs-eye view of the world can make for funny, refreshing and insightful cinema. THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN starts out well, but the story quickly turns sad, then morose, then unsavory, then unbearably dull, falling into one predictable cliché after another. Though it comes with a stronger pedigree than the other two films (it was based on an acclaimed novel by Garth Stein), it’s easily the worst of the three.

THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN begins with an old, dying golden retriever (voiced by Kevin Costner) reflecting on the highlights of his life and that of the beloved human who’d adopted him, amateur Formula One driver Denny Swift (a bland Milo Ventimiglia).  He’s named Enzo after Italian motor racing legend Enzo Ferrari. Soon after getting Enzo, Denny falls hard for a pretty teacher named Eve (Amanda Seyfried). Though Eve’s wealthy parents Maxwell (Martin Donovan) and Trish (Kathy Baker) don’t approve of Denny’s risky profession, they marry and have a daughter, Zoë, who’s born when Denny is away racing in Daytona. Except for the loneliness that Enzo feels because Denny is spending more time pursuing his racing career, everything goes well for the young family in the early years. But tragedies happen in quick succession. Eve becomes ill with brain cancer (Enzo smells it early on) and moves in with her protective parents, taking Zoe with her. Then after about an hour of cancer drama, Eve dies and a battle ensues between Denny and his hateful in-laws who are so cruel they serve Denny with custody papers for little Zoë the day he buries his wife (though of course they are redeemed at the end). Through the ensuing tumultuous time, Enzo remains Denny’s steadfast friend, and a rambling witness to wrongs perpetrated against his human.

THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN has a pulse during the race track scenes but those are few and far between. The problem with the film (and it’s a big one) is that the middle 85 minutes (of a 110 minute film) is a cheap series of dramas little better than a daily soap opera that focus on cancer, death, child custody issues, bankruptcy, an auto accident, and a lame courtroom battle. Enzo occasionally comments on the melodrama with his less-than-insightful narration, but the story’s never really about him. The whole racing theme only exists so metaphors can be shoved down the audience’s throat with platitudes like “your car goes where your eyes go”.

As Enzo, a gravelly voiced Kevin Costner sounds like a highly educated adult male bemoaning his inability to speak and his lack of opposable thumbs. I assume this dialog must have worked better in the novel (his favorite word seems to be ‘manifest’). Enzo claims he’s so wise because he watches TV and has educated himself to go off on these philosophical rants and is ready to go to the next life reborn as a human. This is another area where A DOG’S JOURNEY got it right. The dog’s voice in that was Josh Gad, who seemed to speaking in that excitable “I’ve-just-met-you-and-now-I-love-you” tone and saying dumb things I hope an actual dog might say if one could talk rather than the tiresome and preachy new age bromides here.

I’m not saying THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN lacks emotion. It’s a tear-jerker of the highest order, blatantly tugging hard at the heart strings but there is nothing truly thoughtful or novel here. You’ve got a sweet little girl, a young mother suffering from cancer, and a devoted dog that grows old and dies. With these hard-to-resist elements it’s easy to wring tears out of an audience. There seemed to be plenty of sniffles in the screening I attended, but I wasn’t buying it this time. I usually enjoy a bit of sentimentality, but, especially with its treacly score and maudlin songs on the soundtrack, THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN produces more eye-rolling than tears.

1 of 4 Stars