Haven't seen this mentioned here ....
A few times....
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/official-trailer-the-art-of-r/154219/page1/
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/the-art-of-racing-in-the-rain/155813/page1/
Comes out tomorrow but the reviews so far aren’t promising....
How can I miss all that? Ah well ....
I read the book and enjoyed it well enough that I suggested DW read it. Somehow her takeaway was that I wished she would die so I could go racing.
I'm not in any hurry to see it. The book was enjoyable but there is so much opportunity for the movie to turn it into a simpering Nicholas-Sparks-style emotionfest.
We are going tomorrow. My wife loves dogs, and she is a gearhead, too.
I set my expectations pretty low, so it should meet that.
I saw the ad on TV and believed I recognized some scenery, research confirmed - principal filming in Vancouver that's all I've got.
We are going to see it on Friday. The racing portions should be good, they used Turner Motorsports and Wright Motorsports for it.
Going tonight--will report back.
The set people asked for a box of GRM swag when they were filming the movie, and allegedly a GRM patch made its way onto Milo’s race suit. I will of course be looking for our logo, but more than that I really enjoyed the book, like Garth Stein, and want to see the movie.
I love a good summer tearjerker.
Margie
Preliminary reviews don't look encouraging... Damn.
Who cares ?
We’ll wait for cable, SWMBO got teary seeing the trailer.
I had Trish read it while taking a train from Albany to NYC. First chapter she’s all face leaky, “You didn’t tell me he died!”
Better at home movie. Margie, looking forward to your review.
Dan
stroker said:Preliminary reviews don't look encouraging... Damn.
The movies we love rarely do.
Duke said:I'm not in any hurry to see it. The book was enjoyable but there is so much opportunity for the movie to turn it into a simpering Nicholas-Sparks-style emotionfest.
Apparently that is exactly what happened. The review I read ended with "And if you're a car person? Well, there's always Ford vs Ferrari later this year."
Just got back...
The movie was alright. Not much car action but some IMSA and F1 on the TV. They make a good effort to tell a good story of career development too. Took some artistic license but I'd say it's probably a good change and the feelings still hold up. Costner sounding old the whole time for the dog sounded a bit off. Wife enjoyed it!
Okay, so first: That “Ford v Ferrari” trailer made it look pretty amazing, even if I struggle with the idea of Matt Damon playing the snake man himself.
”The Art of Racing in the Rain” was the kind of movie critics hate, but judging by the theater where I saw it, audiences love it. There was, as far as I could tell, literally not a dry eye in the house. The Ladies room after was filled with women wiping their faces and giving embarrassed little laughs and talking to each other about how wrecked they were—Tom said the Men’s was the same, except they were talking about how it made them want to go racing.
That is surprising, because after teasing us with an opening race sequence (which did heavily feature Turner and one glimpse of a GRM logo), they pushed the racing right to the background. But it was dangled as a Thing People Aspire To Do, and how long has it been since THAT happened?
So I count it a win. It’s a little uneven, downright strange in a couple of places where they tried to really delve deep into the mind of a dog (it’s as I’ve always suspected, i.e. an acid trip with fur). Most of all it’s a shameless tearjerker, and right now, when we can’t even agree on what’s right and what’s wrong, it’s nice to do something as simple as watch some cars on track and grieve for a dog.
Margie
So, it's not an instructional video? Nuts.
:)
Wife and I are going to see it tomorrow. Love the book and even used it to convince her to name our dog Enzo. I just reread the book, so I will be very interested to see how closely it follows. Really the whole racing aspect is secondary to the story of man and his dog, so I'm not expecting it to be as automotive centric or accurate. There are definitely some aspects in the book that I can't see them putting into a movie, especially in our current "culture", but maybe I will be surprised. This may have already been addressed above, but I don't want to read anything that could be a spoiler (even though I literally just spoiled it for myself by reading the book again).
With this and Ford v Ferrari, I honestly haven't been this excited to see new movies in a long time (maybe ever). This movie I see as more of something I can get my wife to watch with me, and Ford v Ferrari is one for me and friends because I don't see any way I can convince her to go see that one.
As a little side note, both of the movies mentioned used very talented drivers. Doesn’t mean much exactly other than it wasn’t the talent behind the wheel holding the action back.
Being a sucker for dog movies like "Old Yeller" and "Where the Red Fern Grows" I will go see it for that reason alone.
I did just finish reading the book, really the guy could have been chasing any kind of dream, with the same road blocks, and it would have still worked. I was somewhat put off with the teenage girl part in the book, it seemed contrived, just to make the struggle harder, when it could have been almost anything else and be more believable. It got me wondering if the author wasn't drawing that part from his life.
It didn't have to be a chase for the racing life though that is what got me personally to read it in the first place.
Marjorie Suddard said:Okay, so first: That “Ford v Ferrari” trailer made it look pretty amazing, even if I struggle with the idea of Matt Damon playing the snake man himself.
”The Art of Racing in the Rain” was the kind of movie critics hate, but judging by the theater where I saw it, audiences love it. There was, as far as I could tell, literally not a dry eye in the house. The Ladies room after was filled with women wiping their faces and giving embarrassed little laughs and talking to each other about how wrecked they were—Tom said the Men’s was the same, except they were talking about how it made them want to go racing.
That is surprising, because after teasing us with an opening race sequence (which did heavily feature Turner and one glimpse of a GRM logo), they pushed the racing right to the background. But it was dangled as a Thing People Aspire To Do, and how long has it been since THAT happened?
So I count it a win. It’s a little uneven, downright strange in a couple of places where they tried to really delve deep into the mind of a dog (it’s as I’ve always suspected, i.e. an acid trip with fur). Most of all it’s a shameless tearjerker, and right now, when we can’t even agree on what’s right and what’s wrong, it’s nice to do something as simple as warch some cars on track and grieve for a dog.
Margie
So we just saw it. It's really good- and a real tear jerker, like the book. And I appreciate the deviation from the book in terms of one major issue.
But I had to quote you, Margie- as soon as the movie ended, Ines says that she wants to go racing again! LOL.
To be honest, when I saw the title of the movie I thought it was going to be about Ayrton Senna... Boy was I disappointed.
I think I'll wait till it goes on Netflix to see this one.
My wife and I went to see the movie Friday night. We both had read the book shortly after it was released years ago. I have been disappointed before about books I have read turned into movies so was a bit skeptical. However, both the wife and I thought the movie was really good. The movie stayed pretty close the the books content with a few exceptions. It is a emotional roller coaster like the book but would highly recommend it.
I agree with those above, the movie followed the book very closely. The extra issue in the custody battle was turned into something more PC. Overall I really liked it, other than how dusty it was in that theater.
I did also have an issue with the cars Denny drives at the beginning of the movie. Was supposed to be 9-10 years ago, but they used modern cars. Other than that I didn't see any glaring issues that took me out of the moment.
I went back to see what critics were complaining about. Most of the reviews seemed to complain about how they use death, dogs, family, etc. to shamelessly play with audience's emotions, and while they may have done that, it was true to the book, so I see no issues with that. It was pretty much exactly as expected for anyone that has read the book, but I'm guessing that was not most critics.
In reply to camaroz1985 :
The other critical points critics had were the depth of the human characters. But it's a story about a dog, not the humans.
With all Denny had to overcome personally, I would have loved to see a 10+ minute race where he comes from behind to win instead of yet another improbable tear-jerker. With the flotilla of stunt people listed in the credits, maybe there is a good, dramatic race on the cutting room floor. JFry?
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