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| Max (Patton Oswalt) in The Secret Life of Pets 2. Image courtesy Universal Pictures. |
The
Secret Life of Pets 2
is an average entry in Illumination's animation stable. It's colorful
and cheery, containing a skosh of inventiveness and a hint of
weirdness or inspiration, just enough to maybe think the movie will
actually be sort of interesting. Illumination movies never come close
to fulfilling those flashes of interesting because of uninspired
animation and static writing. Because mediocrity is easy, and it's
far more profitable to be inoffensive than experimental.
Picking
up some time following the events of the first film, Secret
Life of Pets 2
is divided into three plots. Plot A has Max (now voiced by Patton
Oswalt) and Duke (Eric Stonestreet) dedicating themselves to their
owner's (Ellie Kemper) son Liam. They spend much of the film at a
farm, with Max learning lessons about courage from the bold Rooster
(Harrison Ford, clearly not caring). Plot B has Snowball (Kevin Hart)
joining new dog Daisy (Tiffany Haddish) in an adventure to save a
white tiger from the evil Sergei (Nick Kroll) and his wolves. They
also run into the crotchety Pops (Dana Carvey) along the way. Plot C
has Gidget (Jenny Slate) taking cat lessons from Chloe (Lake Bell) to
get a toy back from some vicious kitties. The three plots eventually
intersect in the third act, with the pets joining forces before
getting rewarded for being very good dogs, cats, bunnies, and tigers.
Good
lord is Secret
Life of Pets 2 boring.
Even with three plots, there isn't a lot actually happening on screen
because the narratives are unambitious. The jokes rarely land, sort
of stuck in this weird liminal state between catering to children and
serving adults. Despite having quality comedic talent (Oswalt, Slate,
Bell, Haddish, and even Hart), it's impressive how few jokes land.
There are a few interesting ideas – a nice animation sequence with
Snowball, the conclusion to Gidget's story – but not enough to ever
be memorable. Things happen in Secret
Life of Pets 2,
but they're more incidentally quotidian than engaging.
The
mistake of splitting Secret
Life of Pets 2
into thirds is a lack of time for story development. Max and Duke at
the farm with Rooster could be interesting, if the film allotted more
time to add depth to the adventures and provide a concrete lesson
that doesn't feel rushed. Snowball and Daisy saving the tiger is a
fun idea, but it needs more time to build tension and establish the
wolves as a full threat and give the tigers something more to do than
hide. Gidget and Chloe is about as complete a story as this film has,
but it could still use more time to explore the divine weirdness of
its premise. This is pretty par for the course for Illumination,
which toys with cool ideas but strays away to provide a mundane
viewing experience.
If
there's one thing Secret
Life of Pets 2
has in its favor, its the relationship between Max and Liam. There's
an inherent sweetness to watching a dog and his boy bond, with Max
evolving into a guardian for his adoptive child. Even if this plot,
like much of the rest of the film, is underdeveloped, the moment at
the end where Liam hugs his dogs still hits the heart strings
effectively. The brilliance is in its simplicity; the scene succeeds
because it connects to a lot of childhood memories. If the movie
knows one thing, it's that dogs are more often than not the best.
(All scientific evidence shows my golden retrievers, Currie and
Haley, were the best.)
That's
one of the reasons I liked this movie more than the original. Haddish
is a nice addition to the franchise, and adding her cuts down on
Duke. Secret
Life of Pets 2
cuts back heavily on the time padding and replaces it with actual
plot, and an incomplete plot is far better than no plot at all.
Adding Liam and avoiding a repeat of the jealousy plot of the
original makes for a more touching film, albeit one that still feels
incomplete. Secret
Life of Pets 2
isn't particularly interesting, but it's inoffensive enough to keep
kids occupied until the next Toy
Story movie
comes out. It's also really difficult to make an unappealing film
about dogs.
Review: Two and a half out of Five
Stars
Click here to see the trailer.
Rating: PG
Run time: 86 minutes
Genre: Animated
tl;dr
What
Worked: Voice
Talent, the Max-Liam Relationship
What
Fell Short: Lack
of enthusiasm, Underdeveloped Plots
What
To Watch Instead:
Madagascar
3: Europe's Most Wanted
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