He is sent to his grandfather’s over the summer and this is the first time he has ever met his grandfather. His mother, Amanda, a single mom who works as a waitress and is going to school to become a nurse, has an estranged relationship with Ben’s grandfather, Jack (Peter Fonda). Jack dropped ties with Amanda when she became pregnant in college and felt at the time that she was not living up to the dreams he had for her.
Jack works to teach Ben respect, responsibility, and gives him something he is lacking, a true friend. Jack takes Ben to the local animal shelter where he adopts a dog who is named DOG for most of the movie. DOG is to be Ben’s friend and a bit of a babysitter, keeping tabs on him and trying to keep him out of trouble. DOG is later named Smitty.
This is a very modern story that shares the important values of responsibility, friendship, determination, and respect. SMITTY also highlights the strong bond created between people and their pets.
There is a scene of vandalism and a couple scenes of Ben smarting off to his family members in this movie. Death is also portrayed in this story so if SMITTY will be the first time for a young family member to learn about this stage of life, you may want to plan time for discussion and questions afterward.
I think this is a great movie for the family. My daughters liked the story line with a boy and his dog and I liked the important values SMITTY illustrated.
Disclosure: I received a copy of SMITTY for this review. The thoughts and feeling expressed are my own. No other compensation was received to produce this review.
