Review - Must Love Dogs
Published August 06, 2005
2.75 /5
Diane Lane portrays Sarah, a divorced 40-something woman who her family is trying to find a match for. They show up at her house with photos of elligible men they know, as a kind of intervention, so that she gets back into the dating game. She seems to be the "go-to" woman at the moment for playing older, single women seeking a fresh start on romance.
Soon, she discovers that one of her sisters has created an online dating profile for her. She is supposed to meet recently divorced Jake (John Cusack) on a park bench. One of Jake's friends saw Sarah's online profile and set Jake up to meet her.
Along the way, she meets the divorced father of one of her students, the grey-haired PhD student Bob, played by Dermot Mulroney. Both men are smitten with her. She's interested in both. Things happen that sour both relationships, etc.
The acting is fine all around. Christopher Plummer portrays her dad, the single, poetry-reciting 70-something who is looking for companionship since he has already had the "love of his life." Elizabeth Perkins portrays one of her well meaning sisters. John Cusack (39) is excellent as the boyish, reluctant Jake. Diane Lane is impossibly beautiful at the real age of 40 and that is both part of what makes the film appealing but also less interesting. She's so attractive that you don't stop for a moment to pity her for being a single woman, eating small quantities of chicken at home by herself. On the other hand, her looks make her a very credible love interest for her two suitors. Still, there's not enough crisis to make this anything other than a lightweight, pedestrian, romantic comedy and certainly not one of the very best.
This film is clearly aimed at an older demographic than, say, Wedding Crashers, and some people will find it enjoyable. Must Love Dogs is based on the novel by Claire Cook.
Visit Triniman's Blog.
Almost weekly, Triniman catches new movies, and adds one or two CDs to his collection. Due to time constraints, he blogs about only 5% of the CDs, books and DVDs that he purchases. Holed up in the geographic centre of North America, the cultural mecca of Canada, and the sunniest city north of the 49th, Winnipeg, Triniman blogs a bit when he's not swatting mosquitoes, shovelling snow or golfing.
- Review - Must Love Dogs
- Published: August 06, 2005
- Type: Review
- Section: Video
- Filed Under: Video: Comedy, Video: Romantic, Video: Romantic Comedies
- Writer: Triniman
- Triniman's BC Writer page
- Triniman's personal site
- Spread the Word
- Like this article?
- Email this
Save to del.icio.us
Comments on this articleComments
The like the vast majority of movies, it's predictable.
I thought it was a sweet movie. Yes, it was predictable, yet it shared a ray of hope for everyone. I enjoyed it.
I thought it was an OK movie, not a great one, though. My wife liked it, especially the scenes with the Westy (being a Westy owner), although we thought our dog could've done better. The machine gun dialogue reminded of a chick-flick version of Dragnet.
I was just disappointed because it had a great cast. I guess I shouldn't put too much stock in a movie based on who is in it, even actors get desperate at times eh?
Diane Lane will always please her audience. Lane is a classy actress that takes her roles seriously, knows the genres she excells in and earns her paycheck. However, when wardrobe must dress the leading actor in black, other dark colors and baggy clothes (Cusack), because of his weight gain; an unknown would have given this little film more chemistry. All and all, Cusack was dull, no personality, looked bored; and I, in turn, I was bored with Cusack. Question: when will an actor(s) such as Mr.Cusack realize he has to also leave his politics outside the "office" door (moviemaking is a business) when sent by the studios to shows like Leno's to promote their film. That did not help ticket sales.
Enjoyable movie. Ina summer of blow me up's it was nice to have an adult comedy. I reccomend it.
Someone recently said they saw this film the first time when it was called You've Got Mail. I wouldn't describe it as a remake, though.
I missed Cusack on Leno. What happended?
I don't know, I missed it too. But he looked AWFUL in the movie. Sure, he's getting older, but as someone else mentioned, you could tell they dressed him with the attempt at hiding his weight gain. And he didn't have the charisma we all love about him in other movies.
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/33737)
Oh gag, I want that time back from my life. The script is awful, definately the worst dialogue in a film this year. And it was entirely predictable. My friends and I jokingly said "All this movie is missing is X" and then X happened. And we did that for the entire movie.
Don't see it.