In Netflix's 'Dog Gone,' Rob Lowe looks for a dog and finds an abundance of clichés

It’s a tried-and-true movie tradition: instant tears, just add dog.

“Dog Gone,” Stephen Herek’s Netflix film that streams Friday, Jan. 13, does not tinker with the formula. It does add a few ingredients, however — too many, in fact — making the family friendly film a bit of a jumble.

The true story of a beloved dog that goes missing on the Appalachian Trail and his family’s efforts to find him, Nick Santora’s script, based on a book by Pauls Toutonghi, also throws in some bonding between a distant father and son, along with a dash of mom’s childhood trauma.

I almost forgot the health scare.

There’s a lot going on here, not much of it all that interesting. Although you do get to see Rob Lowe clomp around in the woods. And that's something.

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Banal family drama does not help the tired trope of a storyline

The film begins with Fielding (Johnny Berchtold) at college, already without much direction and few plans for the future even before his girlfriend dumps him. He decides to adopt a dog and winds up with Gonker. He doesn’t provide Fielding with much in the way of stability — Fielding sleeps through his graduation — but he is cute and friendly and a loyal companion.

He’s a good boy, you might say. Somebody probably does say, in fact.

Fielding’s father John (Lowe), evidently a wealthy investor or something, based on a Zoom call, is not happy with his son’s seeming lack of concern about the rest of his life. The two are not close, though neither seems particularly perturbed about that.

Fielding’s mother Ginny (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) is more patient and forgiving, and both she and John predictably become attached to Gonker. So far this is all presented in the gauzy manner of a Hallmark Channel film, which makes Ginny’s disturbing flashbacks to her own childhood, in which her stern father and ice-queen mother were not exactly dog lovers, all the more odd.

Long story short: Gonker chases a fox on the trail and gets lost, Ginny sets up a command station at home and John and Fielding head out in search of the dog.

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Clichés abound and the story loses focus on the one thing we care about — the dog

Actually it’s not that long a story. The film is only 95 minutes long.

It turns out that is more than enough time to squeeze in several clichés. There is the meeting with the biker tough with a heart of gold, there is John staring down the barroom bullies, there is the moment when John finally sees through all of his own baggage and understands where Fielding is coming from.

Sort of.

Things happen fast, and without a lot of explanation or, more importantly, exploration. It gives the film the feeling of a sketch, like it hasn’t been fleshed out.

It would have been more effective if Herek had spent more time with John and Fielding, without jumping back so often to Ginny at home, mourning the loss of her childhood dog or reliving her mother’s callous indifference, for instance.

What’s worse, for a big chunk of the movie we, like everyone else, lose track of Gonker.

We get a shot or two of him out there on the trail, cowering during a thunderstorm. But if the focus of your movie is an adorable dog, you want to see as much of him as you can. It’s like watching the Arizona Cardinals without Kyler Murray.

Wait, that’s not fair. Nothing is that painful.

If you're going to make a dog movie, don't leave out the dog

Berchtold portrays the confusion of youth well enough, and Lowe does his usual thing — a little smug, a little fun, a guy determined to let you know he’s in on the joke even when there isn’t one. Williams-Paisley gets to tear up a lot whenever she thinks about childhood.

It’s all pretty regular stuff. Lassie come home, that sort of thing — if Lassie wasn't in a bunch of the movie and you cringed at every other line of dialogue. Woof.

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'Dog Gone' 2.5 stars

Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★

Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★

Director: Stephen Herek.

Cast: Rob Lowe, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Johnny Berchtold.

Rating: Not rated.

How to watch: Streaming on Netflix Jan. 13.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Dog Gone' movie review: Rob Lowe stars in cliché-ridden Netflix film