Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Dog owners seek training for wayward pets; mild language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Eat Pray Bark
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In EAT PRAY BARK, Simon (Rurik Gislason) owns a Tyrolean inn that is failing. To boost tourism, he has taken on the persona of a highly touted Celtic dog trainer who relies on his spiritual love of nature and Celtic wisdom to train badly behaved dogs. Owners—including a surly candidate for European parliament named Ursula (Alexandra Maria Lara) who has stupidly bad-mouthed dogs in public, and Babs (Anna Herrmann), whose dog will be taken away by the authorities if it can't pass a behavior test—have enrolled in the high-priced program set at a mountain inn to cure their dogs. Simon, calling himself "Nodon," makes a great show of shirtless manhood and quiet power over difficult dogs. The visiting owners all seem to dislike each other and each other's dogs. Will the dogs and their people learn to behave better?
Is It Any Good?
This film is a curiosity and might disappoint kids assuming the movie is about cute furry friends. Most dog-related movies at least have adorable dogs to focus on. Here, the animals are secondary to a bunch of mostly unpleasant and neurotic humans. In any case, no real effort is made to train either a dog or an owner, yet everyone goes home happy, with fully behaved dogs. And that satisfaction surfaces even though the participants have learned that the mystical and expensive "Nodon" is a complete fraud and that Simon is just using the dog training gig as a way to lure people to his inn. Gislason, a professional footballer and model, does a solid job as Nodon/Simon.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the puzzling idea that tapping Celtic culture, however fraudulently, is the best way to train wayward dogs. In what sense does the trainer do anything to train the dogs?
The group of owners all have issues. Does Nodon do anything to correct those issues?
The humor is supposed to be in the presentation of clueless owners making misbehaving dogs misbehave even more. Is it funny? Do you think cultural differences could be at play here?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : April 1, 2026
- Cast : Rurik Gislason , Alexandra Maria Lara , Anna Herrmann
- Director : Marco Petry
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Writer(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Comedy
- Topics : Animals ( Dogs )
- Run time : 92 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : April 14, 2026
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