Honestly, the title of this film was enough to put me off watching it when I was a kid, because talking about dogs going to heaven implies that all dogs die someday and that was just not something I ever wanted to think about. The film is about a dog named Charlie, who is murdered by his business partner and goes to heaven. While there, he steals his life watch, which allows him to go back to Earth with one major caveat - if the watch stops ticking, he goes to hell. Immediately. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, go directly to hell. So he's back on Earth, and he's protecting/taking advantage of a little orphan girl named Anne-Marie. But as the movie progresses, he softens and has a change of heart about the way he's treated the little girl. He eventually gives up his life to save hers, re-earning him a spot up in heaven. He is allowed back down to Earth in ghost form one last time to say goodbye to Anne-Marie, and the movie goes into really sad territory pretty quickly after that. But you want to know the depressing icing on top of the already heartbreaking cake? This was Judith Barsi's (Anne-Marie) last role - the ten-year-old was murdered by her father months after finishing her work on this film. So, yeah... take a minute and try to recover from that.
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
