Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 07, 2005 | | Summary | How To Make A Romantic Comedy in 7 Easy Steps!! | Content
 | #1 - For starters, the two leads must fall into one of two categories (A) that they have waited almost too long for the right person, and are about to miss their chance to love forever! Or (B) they have both been hurt before and must learn to love again - (MUST LOVE DOGS? CHECK!!!)
#2 - Be sure the female comes from a large extended family that is insuffarably close-knit, are all generically interchangable with one another, and can each come up with witty lines for EVERY situation! (MUST LOVE DOGS? CHECK!!)
#3 - Be sure the male lead is emotionally sensitive and has a passion for something obscure - like hand-carving wooden row boats, for example. (MUST LOVE DOGS? CHECK!!)
#4 - Ensure that the female lead has a gay best friend to have "girl talk" with! This role was previously filled by a more ambiguous guy friend who was a sharp dresser but never got girls (the 80s), then by a female friend who was a whore (late 80s, early 90s), then a female friend who never got any guys (early 90s), then a flamboyently gay man (late 90s, early 2000s), and now it would seem to be a gay COUPLE that is throroughly fulfilled in their monogamous, sexually non-threatening relationship. - (MUST LOVE DOGS? CHECK!!!)
#5 - Ensure that the female characters at some point spontaneously burst into a singing-and-dancing moment to the tune of some classic old song - (MUST LOVE DOGS? CHECK!!!)
#6 - Have one of the main characters obsessed with an obscure classic film from the 40s, 50s, or 60s that no one has watched for the last two generations! - (MUST LOVE DOGS? CHECK!!!)
#7 - Finally, and most importantly, the girl must waver between one of at least two choices for her one-true love - and then decide in the last minute of the movie to dramatically and romantically run to catch the one she had rejected all along - but in doing so, she must suddenly overcome some obstacle - a river, a traffic jam, a train speeding away! - (MUST LOVE DOGS? CHECK!!!)
So, in short, MUST LOVE DOGS is a cookie-cutter, by the book amalgamation of every Romantic Chick Flick you've seen for the last 20 years. There is nothing original here - it is boring and annoying - and I hope all of you will avoid it in droves!! |
| Rating | | | Date | August 06, 2005 | | Summary | Pedestrian romance. Not outstanding but enjoyable and may appeal to those older folks who can relate to dating after divorce. | Content
| 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 (not Ben or Brian) Mulroney. Both men are smitten with her. She's interested in both. Things happen that sour both relationships, etc.
The acting was 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." Liz (Wilma Flinstone) Perkins portrays one of her well meaning sisters. John Cusack (39) was 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. Based on the novel by Claire Cook. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 05, 2005 | | Summary | Must Love Dogs | Content
| Recently divorced school teacher Sarah (Lane) wants no part of the dating scene, but her family, including sister Carol (Perkins) and father Bill (Plummer) are bound and determined to get her dating. Carol puts Sarah's profile on perfectmatch.com, and she ends up on a series of bad dates, and a date with her own father. But then comes Jake (Cusack), who is also dealing with the end of his marriage and is also dealing with dating again. Their first date is awkward, but not off-putting, and they both want to try again. Of course, when things start to look good, Bob (Mulroney), the father of one of her students, enters the picture and makes things a little more complicated.
"Must Love Dogs" is pretty much a standard romantic comedy. There is nothin special about it to seperate it from any other romantic comedy. Cusack and Lane are trying to make it work, but this formula can only take things so far. That is a shame, because both are good actors that deserve a better story. This one is for fans of the genre only. Otherwise, stay away. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 04, 2005 | | Summary | "Must Love Diane ." | Content
| Must Love Dogs is not a bad romantic comedy, and it's only failure is the lack of chemistry and screentime shared between Diane Lane and John Cusack. This film is certainly more tailor-made for Lane, since she dominated most of the movie, and she's good, even if not as good as her previous career revival roles in Unfaithful and Under The Tuscan Sun. John Cusack is a bit underexposed and miscast for his part, and he's been far more enjoyable to watch in movies like High Fidelity or Bullets Over Broadway.
Sarah(Lane) is divorced pre-school teacher and she's been encouraged by her family to get out and start dating again. She reluctantly goes on dates with men whom responded to an internet ad that was posted by her sister(Elizabeth Perkins). She had to go through a string of aweful first dates before meeting her ideal soulmate(Jake/John Cusack), who happened to be on the mend from an unpleasant divorce. He's the only guy that she went beyond the first date, but she's not ready to open herself emotionally. It was very funny to see them on the second date together when they had to drive all over town to buy condoms. Meanwhile, she's got another potential boyfriend(Bob/Dermot Mulroney) trying to enter her life. Bob is a single "hot dad" whose kid happens to be Sarah's student, and they are obviously attracted to each other.
Sarah's Dad(Christopher Plummer) also goes on serial dating women he met on-line. (Dolly)Stockard Channing is the one that truly fell for him, despite the fact that he's not serious about falling in love again after his departed wife. Channing stole scenes with her comic moments, especially in the scenes when she showed Sarah her ads on various websites and when a teenage guy came to see her after corresponding on line.
Sarah eventually learned to let herself go and be brave and went on as many dates as she could. She soon realized that Bob was just taking an advantage of her sexually and didn't take her seriously like Jake did, but she had turned Jake away when he saw her with Bob. Can "Dog Park Girl" find her way back into the arms of "Condom Man" before he loses his good intension and go for other girls?
Overall, this film is pretty funny and so-so romantic ,and it's got lots of chick-flick cliche jokes that will work for the female crowds. Diane Lane fans will love this film, because she's very charming and still beautiful for her age. It's rare to see Hollywood let an actress over 40 to carry a romantic comedy these days. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 03, 2005 | | Summary | An acceptable alternative in a summer of weak films | Content
| So many movies seem to fall on the fence between "see it in the theater" and "wait for DVD." This is one of those, and normally I would just recommend anyone interested to wait for it on DVD or cable, but this has been one of the worst movie summers in memory, so my recommendation is a bit different. If, like me, you've been upset by the incredible lack of decent films to see this summer, you might want to give this one a look. It isn't great, but neither is it unwatchable. All in all, it is a pleasant enough way to waste ninety minutes.
Though the ads present this as a Diane Lane-John Cusack vehicle, this is very much a Diane Lane film. The film is largely told from her point of view, the narrative is situated in her world, and she gets most of the screen time. There is no problem with this if you like Diane Lane, but those who are excited about a new John Cusack film should moderate their expectations. Both are good in their roles, though together they generate a lot less chemistry than I would have liked, largely because of many awkward turns in the script. Indeed, much of the film is hurt by poor execution on the production side. While there are many funny moments, and several satisfyingly reflective ones, as a rule the movie is a tad on the flat side. Scenes drag on too long or are curtailed too quickly, something that in the end is the result of either poor direction or poor editing (poor writing can be dealt with by a director). There are several poorly written scenes. So, many good moments are offset by many weak moments. This all undermines efforts of a strong overall cast. In addition to Lane and Cusack, Christopher Plummer, Elizabeth Perkins, and Stockard Channing were all excellent in their roles.
This should have been a better movie than it turned out being. There is a great cast, and the topic of the difficulty of over-40 dating is one that is increasingly relevant as the Baby Boomers all age. There is a bit of disingenuousness in the central conceit. Diane Lane is presented as dating a somewhat younger man, but the fact is that John Cusack is only a year younger than she is. A great deal could have been done with the lying and deception that takes place as people present themselves over the Internet. Still, despite the shortcomings of the film, it is one of the more palatable options we have seen recently in theaters. You can do worse. |
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