Screenwriter Mark Bomback has adapted the three-hankie property from author and movie producer Garth Stein, and Simon Curtis directs. They have created a film aimed with lethal efficiency at your tear-ducts like Chuck Norris putting his boot into your kidneys. Milo Ventimiglia plays Denny, a race car driver renowned for an ability to handle his vehicle in the rain – and perhaps also for piloting his family’s lives through a tear-fall of sadness. He’s devoted to his dog, Enzo (Costner), who with decent canine stoicism accepts the loss of attention when Denny falls in love with Eve (Amanda Seyfried ) and then they have a baby. But a dark shadow falls when Eve begins to feel unwell. And who do you suppose is going to step up and keep the family together? The purely outrageous final scene addresses Enzo’s own belief that dogs can evolve upwards into homo sapiens. His canine existence looks dignified enough to me.
• The Art of Racing in the Rain is released in the UK and US on 9 April.INTERESTING FACT ABOUT YOUR PET: Nearly 80 million U.S. households have a pet, and 42 percent of those households have more than one, according to a 2015-2016 survey by the APPA. There are 77.8 million pet dogs in the U.S. and 85.8 million pet cats.