The 2018 British family comedy Patrick’s main hero…is a pug. Named Patrick. Hence the title. The film is a by-the-numbers comedy with some highlights, but there really is nothing worth noting.
Borrowing from every other protagonist in every romantic comedy that has ever existed, we have the heroine Sarah. Sarah, unlucky in love, is also struggling with her classroom of high school students. It is then that she is given her grandmother’s spoiled pug, the eponymous Patrick. However, this being a family comedy, Sarah soon gains control of her class and meets not one BUT TWO potential suitors: a stuck-up veterinarian (Ed Skrein, who genuinely looks as bored as the audience does here) and Ben (Tom Bennett), a student’s father.
Look: Patrick isn’t going to win any awards or be anyone’s favorite movie of all time. It is an inoffensive comedy full of minor hijinks, misunderstandings, and a dog. It has a built-in audience, as any dog lover will (maybe?) be motivated to check this one out. It doesn’t break any new ground. There is no real moral lesson, but the film is good family fun.