Must Love Dogs (2005)

Boring

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I did not enjoy this movie. The big problem was I did not find the lead characters sympathetic. Sarah Nolan (played by Diane Lane) is an absurdly jealous woman who thinks she owns the exclusive attention of every male she has ever flirted with. She is extremely rude to everyone without cause. Oddly, nobody smacks her back. They just completely ignore her vicious tongue. I would prefer she did _not_ find true love and ruin someone's life. There is some predictable humour with various unsuitable dates, and a bit more with various relatives trying to fix her up with people she would not like. Christopher Plummer plays the father, an elderly gentleman worshipped by the ladies. He is charming and fun, especially when he quotes poetry. The ending is telegraphed long in advance, so it feels embarrassingly corny when it finally unfolds. Nothing much happens. There are no memorable scenes. Despite the title, dogs play a very minor role.

First, I only watch chick flicks like this because of my lovely lady. I do love dogs, John Cusack (GRIFTERS), and, of course, beautiful Diane Lane. Must Love Dogs is typical pleasant but not overwhelming romance with simple story and dialogue.Christopher Plummer plays a foolish widower with lots of ladies and little respectfulness. He seems under-performing in this role. However, in one late scene with Diane Lane, he steals the show with a turn in depth of character and truth. This short scene is worth the $$ of a rental. It's not Shakespeare, but when your heart skips, you will understand how a professional stage and movie actor can move you. Bravo! How often do we witness these snippets of great scenes and acting from trivial films that are memorable enough to cause you to smile in your memories years later? When you find them, it reinforces what movies are supposed to be. Hats off to a superb Canadian actor who reminds us of these special performances in an otherwise average film.Now, when I am with my special lady, and she wants to cozy up with a chick flick, I will not complain about THIS movie with THAT scene.

In the movie, "Must Love Dogs", Diane Lane plays a single kindergarten teacher Sarah Nolan, who is close to giving up on the game of love because of her previous divorce to a man who stopped loving her. Even with the support and never ending efforts of her pushy sisters and the rest of her huge family, Sarah feels nervous that she will never find a man that will accept her for who she truly is. This delightful romantic comedy takes place in Los Angeles California. Sarah Nolan, a recently divorced woman in her early forties, is not sure she can find the right match for love. Her large nosy Irish family is just as interested as she is to find her Mr. Right. Sarah goes on a slew of terrible and hilarious dates in the result of her eager sisters making an online dating profile for her. On a rough-to- start date at the dog park with Jake Anderson (played by John Cusack), who seems to fit the demands of her personal add to "must love dogs", Sarah feels a spark of hope that she may have found someone who really interests her. Around the same time, Sarah has also becomes romantically interested in Bob Connor (played by Dermot Mulroney), a handsome and flirty father of one of her students. After an awkward meeting of Bob and Jake at Sarah's house, she is no longer given the option to choose between two men. Jake, the handsome and also recently divorced guy she met at the dog park, decides to stop dating Sarah because of his impression of her and Bob's relations. Sarah is left to explore her relationship with Bob and see if he is the right guy for her. After a romantic night at a hotel with Bob, Sarah wakes up to sadly realize that Bob only went after her because she was vulnerable. With Jake still out of the picture, Sarah wonders what would have happened between the two of them had they of continued dating and if there was any chance of getting him back.One critique I have of this movie is that it became dull at several points. There were times in the movie when the chemistry between Sarah and Jake and Sarah and Bob could have been enhanced. The overuse of clichés also made this movie predictable and boring at times as well. Sarah being a single kindergarten teacher looking for love, going to the grocery store deli for a single chicken breast, being screwed over by her father of a student love interest, and being able to predict the ending of the film were all clichés that stuck out to me.I liked the theme of family this film takes in hand for Sarah's happiness. She is surrounded by a huge Irish family, 3 siblings and a father who brings 3 dates to family events at a time. Her family is as eager to find her that special someone just as she is. She is given names of their dentists, coworkers, married and separated men, and even the suggestion to date her adopted Cousin by her Aunt Eileen. The importance of her family in her life is really what keeps her grounded and happy between finding the love of her life and is ultimately what leads her to her happy ending.As much as the film has many clichés and can pretty predictable, it is still managed to be one of my favorite romantic comedies. The humor and warmth of the characters and the romantic tangles are what one would expect from Hollywood when watching a romantic comedy. Both Diane Lane and John Cusack are great actors to watch, especially when put together. Even though the chemistry between the main characters could have been turned up a bit, the film kept me hopeful and empathetic for Lane's character to find love and be happy.

As a man, I consider this to be a watchable yet frustrating "love" story. For sure, I say "love" because I was never really convinced of the characters true love for each other. I can forgive that for an amusing storyline and the fact that John Cusack is in it, as he is an extremely underrated actor who always brings a touch of genuine believability to his roles.So what really annoys me? Is why the hell a man like him should take her on, for no apparent reason I could see, after she'd gone off and had her fun with someone else first and then latched onto him like a limpet.I found myself screaming at the TV, "say NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO and stick to your boats, mate". Painful, but I suppose the film did get an emotional response.