Think Like a Dog Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Think Like a Dog Blu-ray Movie Review

Look who's barking.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 14, 2020

If you’re a dog person like I am, chances are you have had moments when you were convinced that you have known what your pet was thinking. (I am assuming that owners and/or lovers of cats have no similar assumptions, and, yes, that’s a joke.) Think Like a Dog takes that premise literally in this winning if kind of predictable family comedy that posits a nerdish kid named Oliver (Gabriel Bateman) who, thanks to several probably considerably overly convenient plot machinations, ends up being able to telepathically communicate with his dog. Unfortunately in the process he alerts something akin to Men in Black types who are certain some kind of illicit activity is at hand (though there's a bit of a twist to this particular aspect). Think Like a Dog coasts by on the general charisma of its appealing cast, and some fun interplay between Olly and his pooch Henry (voiced by Todd Stashwick).

The film is actually narrated by Henry, which gives things an "insider" perspective from the get go. That said, the dog's frequent overt allusions to bodily functions may mean that the humor in this film is probably suited more toward slightly older kids, unless parents aren't particularly concerned about such things. Henry is the family pet of the Reed family, which includes Ollie and his parents Lukas (Josh Duhamel) and Ellen (Megan Fox). Henry alerts the audience to the fact that Ollie is already a pretty accomplished inventor, and the whole "mind link" conceit of the film relies of course on one of Ollie's little "projects".

While Ollie's home life seems to be perfect (more about some needless melodrama in that regard in a moment), at school he's predictably picked on as being a science nerd, and when his school has a Science Fair attended by a Bill Gates type named Mr. Mills (Kunal Nayyar), Ollie thinks he has a chance to show off his mind reading machine. When one of the school's bullies lies during the demonstration, Ollie's hopes are dashed. He's also striking out in the romance department, courtesy of his fear of asking a girl who's caught his eye to an upcoming dance.

Ollie is also a gamer, and he likes to participate in RPGs with an internet buddy of his named Xiao (Hou Minghao), who lives in China (the film perhaps surprisingly includes location sequences shots in Beijing and environs). When his school test of his mind reading project fails, Xiao manages to create a link to a superpowered satellite to up the energy going to a kind of headband Ollie attaches to Henry, since there are no humans present, and the result is that Ollie can hear Henry's thoughts. Unfortunately, the satellite linkage almost immediately catches the interest of what initially appear to be nefarious government types.

All of this unfolds with decent flow and fairly regular jokes courtesy of Henry's commentary, but the film is perhaps a bit too crowded for its own good in terms of subplots. Both the assumed governmental detectives as well as Mr. Mills are involved in various shenanigans (and anyone worth their salt is going to see a supposed "twist" coming from a mile off), Ollie keeps faltering in his attempts to ask the girl to the dance, and just for good (or middling, frankly) measure, a job opportunity for Lukas rather incredibly may lead to a divorce, despite the fact that Lukas and Ellen seem to be pretty happily married and well adjusted.

It all builds to a suitably breakneck climax, and just as predictably, all ends happily. The film is bright and breezy, and may be one of those titles where folks will come tp it with perhaps less than sky high expectations, only to be at least somewhat surprised at its overall effectiveness. Performances are generally winning in terms of the major characters, though several of the supporting players are consigned to unabashedly cartoonish interpretations.

Think Like a Dog Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Think Like a Dog is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The IMDb doesn't have any technical information on this shoot, and I unfortunately haven't been able to track down anything really authoritative, other than a passing and generic reference in a list of cinematographer Giles Nuttgens' CV that states it was shot in "HD". The closing credits list FotoKem, for what that's worth, but this looks like digital capture to me (if anyone knows for sure, private message me and I'll happily update the review). This is a sharp, clear and very well detailed looking presentation, with fine detail elements like Henry's fur or Duhamel's stubble nicely resolved throughout. The palette pops quite agreeably, and there is no really aggressive grading at all in the film (a few of the government HQ scenes are on the blue side, but that actually looks to be more the result of lighting and production design). Some of the CGI, notably some "outer space" scenes of the satellite, look just slightly soft. The location footage in China is scenic (there's a nice looking, if short, sequence early in the film on the Great Wall).

Think Like a Dog Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Think Like a Dog features an enjoyable DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that features a few moments of science fiction tinged sound design with regard to the satellite and especially the overcharged linkage that results when Xiao helps Ollie form a telepathic connection with Henry. Otherwise, immersion, while subtle at times, relies more on things like ambient environmental effects or some background clamor in scenes like the Science Fair or some Drama Club sequences (Ollie is undertaking the role of Romeo in Shakespeare's play). There are also some fun source cues that serve as underscore and which fill the side and rear channels winningly. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly throughout this problem free track.

Think Like a Dog Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Writer / Director Gil Junger


• Anything is Paw-sible: Making Think Like a Dog (1080p; 11:39) is an enjoyable if standard issue EPK with interviews, snippets from the film and some behind the scenes footage.

Think Like a Dog Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

My wife and I are experiencing life without any dogs for the first time in our long marriage, after having two dogs in tandem for almost all of our time together, other than one brief period of a couple of decades ago. While we've almost always had two dogs, sadly as is inevitable when you have pets, both of our elderly pooches have passed in the last little while. That personal history probably made me more nostalgic and easily moved by this silly enterprise than I would have been otherwise, but Think Like a Dog is nonetheless a "feel good" movie that should delight most families looking for something they can enjoy together, though that said, as mentioned above, parents of younger children concerned about lots of fart or poop jokes should probably be forewarned. Technical merits are solid, and Think Like a Dog comes Recommended.