First Take: Patrick- dogs don’t make films better

SYNOPSIS: Sarah is a young woman whose life is in a bit of a mess. The last thing she needs is someone else to look after. Yet, like it or not, her Grandmother has bequeathed her a very spoiled pug - Patrick. Surely she must have had her reasons?.

It wouldn’t be a birthday marathon without one or two films that question the pulling powers of producers- and to think that Disney put money into Mandie Fletcher’s latest film is something that really infuriates me. It had promise, but from the moment I seen the trailer for it (before Show Dogs of all films), I knew I would be writing these words: this one is awful.

Fletcher’s direction isn’t the issue, she’s handled comedies well in the past with a body of work that includes 2015′s Absolutely Fabulous big screen adaptation, but the script leaves a lot to be desired- co-written with Paul de Vos and Vanessa Davies, there is no humour at all in this film, not even enough to pass the 6 laugh test, as it just feels too clichéd for its own good throughout its 1 hour 34 minute running time. It’s shot decently by Chris Goodger, and the music from Sherlock co-composer Michael Price does the job, but this isn’t the end of the film’s problems.

Leading the cast is newcomer Beattie Edmondson, and yes, this may be her first film, and she may be the daughter of one of her co-stars (the almighty Jennifer Saunders), but she manages to stop this film from being absolutely awful- she has a sense of comic timing, and somehow she is able to provide a little relief alongside a cast that includes Ed Skrein, Tom Bennett, Emilia Jones, Emily Atack, Bernard Cribbins and Peter Davison- it’s a good cast, but the film’s quality left a lot to be desired, especially as the shadow of The Incredibles 2 is looming over British cinema screens in a matter of days.

THE VERDICT

I had more fun chatting with cinema staff about a ‘big do’ than I had watching this film- Patrick is a favourite for my worst film of 2018. With zero humour, a recycled plot, and a script so weak that it makes the Emoji Movie look like a masterpiece, I feel it should have gone straight to DVD.

RATING- 1.5/5