Movie Review: Must Love Dogs

Must Love Dogs

If you've seen the commercials for Must Love Dogs, you're doubtless well aware that it's one of those films often referred to as a "chick flick." I'm not so sure it's even suitable for the kind of woman that glories in such films...

Sarah Nolan (Diane Lane) is a recent divorcée who is showing no inclination whatsoever to getting back into the dating scene. This is a situation her close-knit family finds intolerable, and so they stage an "intervention" to push Sarah onward into the future and — hopefully — into a new relationship. Her father, Bill (Christopher Plummer) is never less than encouraging, but it's her sister Carol (Elizabeth Perkins) who's really driving the bus. When the intervention (which includes advice and photos of the single friends each family member knows) doesn't spark action from Sarah, Carol places an Internet ad on Sarah's behalf. But once Sarah gets over the shock and dismay she feels at her sister's presumption, she starts listening to some of the responses her ad generates.

Meanwhile, just across town there's someone else who has suffered a recent divorce and who feels the same subsequent disillusionment that haunts Sarah. Jake Anderson (John Cusack) isn't inclined to start dating, either. He's happier being miserable. But his best friend takes it on himself to respond to an Internet ad on his behalf. As fate would have it, that ad is Sarah's. The two do meet, but the "date" doesn't go well, and both go their separate ways. Though Sarah is bemused by Jake, he's struck breathless by her and hopes he can get her to give him a second chance.

Even as Jake prepares to beg Sarah to see him just one more time, the pre-school teacher meets the father of one of her young charges and falls in lust at first sight. Bob Connor (Dermot Mulroney) is handsome, funny, and seems to really like Sarah. Though hesitant to get involved with a parent of one of her students, Sarah verges on going ahead anyway. To distract herself, she keeps going on dates with men who respond to her ad, and even agrees to give Jake the second chance he so craves.

Throughout the entire dating process, Sarah's widowed father is dating up a storm with women he meets off his own personals ad. He serves as both an inspiration and a source of horrified embarrassment as he brings woman after woman to family gatherings. His new friends include the eccentric Dolly (Stockard Channing) who gets off on the wrong foot with Sarah, but who offers both fun and friendship to the entire family. It's purely coincidence that the boisterous Dolly happens to live in the same neighborhood as the handsome Bob Connor...

Must Love Dogs is based on a book of the same name. The man responsible for both the screenplay and the direction of the movie version is Gary David Goldberg, who first came to fame as a television writer and creative influence (among his hits are Family Ties, Brooklyn Bridge, and Spin City). The biggest problem with Must Love Dogs is Goldberg's sitcom background. What works well in 23 minutes and with a laugh track is nowhere near so titillating over the course of some 90 minutes. The dialogue is stilted and melodramatic; pauses (probably for laughs that don't come) are distracting at best, and contribute more than little to the very awkward flow of the movie. Add that to the plot's utter predictability, and you don't have a recipe for a particularly enjoyable film.

Diane Lane and John Cusack are both brilliant actors, yet in this film they seem largely amateur (again, almost certainly the result of bad direction). It doesn't help matters that they have very little onscreen chemistry. All of the characters are largely one-dimensional, not least of them being the one played by Dermot Mulroney. He, too, is a capable actor though this storyline and character render him impotent rather than important. I liked the huge dog Sarah frequently found herself caretaking, but that was nowhere near enough to salvage this dog of a movie. (If you somehow do get roped into seeing this film, don't let it be a total waste of your time — stay for the credits which offer some extras that, while not worth the price of your ticket, will at least let you leave the theatre having experienced some small amount of pleasure.)

FAMILY SUITABILITY: Must Love Dogs is rated PG-13 for "sexual content." The very premise of the movie, too, isn't going to be one to which young children can relate. There's nothing too overt, so a young teen would likely be fine (unless you object to frank discussions involving condoms for your kids), and there are some fairly good lessons to be learned here (the dangers of falling for a cad chief among them). But as a whole, there's little to recommend where Must Love Dogs is concerned. I'd suggest you steer yourself, your date, and/or your kids elsewhere.