Rated PG-13 for sexual content.
98 Minutes

Written and Directed By: Gary David Goldberg
Staring: Diane Lane, John Cusack, Elizabeth Perkins, Stockard Channing, Dermont Mulroney, Christopher Plummer, and Ali Hilis

The best place to meet a guy is at the supermarket. You don’t need to waste a lot of time there, either. You see a guy holding a list, you know he’s married. He’s in the frozen food section carrying a small basket, he’s single. I like to hang out by fruits and vegetables, there’s a better chance of getting a guy who’s healthy. -Rebecca

Synopsis

A forty-something preschool teacher looks to the personals for a change of pace and a relationship, with hilarious results.

Review

I wish I would have watched this before Elizabethtown instead of the other way around.  I may have appreciated the uniqueness and creativity of it after seeing another by the numbers romantic comedy.  Must Love Dogs has two immensely charismatic leads and that helped save it in many of it’s more cliche moments, and at the end of the day it was a run of the mill romantic comedy, but a sweeter and better version than many.

The premise is irksome, yet in today’s 50% forecast of divorce not everyone has a happily ever after.  Diane Lane and John Cusack play two recently self proclaimed divorcees.  Both are struggling with the idea of being single in their forties, or perhaps searching for love in the twisted world of dating.  In this search, Lane’s meddlesome family andCusack’s meddlesome friend encourage each to explore the Internet to find that perfect someone.  Of course, things get complicated and the last twenty minutes of this film runs on in over-exaggerated form, whileElizabethtown had a truly heartfelt ending.

There is nothing particularly interesting or new about Must Love Dogs.  It follows the typical Hollywood formula, the will they or won’tthey’s , the misunderstandings, and then finally having a superficial epiphany that they belong together, kiss, and then the romantic music and credits.  Must Love Dogs just does this better than other films that mock this formula.  Diane Lane is essentially good in anything she does, and JohnCusack can deliver a tortured heartbroken yearning soul, and still maintain his masculine integrity like no other guy in Hollywood.  Their moments together made the movie worthwhile.  The rest was lackluster, predictable, and forgettable.

I didn’t mind watching this one.  It was over quickly enough that I wasn’t allowed enough time to contemplate the ridiculous notions and situations the film tossed out there.  The constant reference of Doctor Zhivago made me think of Sleepless in Seattle and it’s referencing to An Affair To Remember.  That was a movie that really captured romance.  As much as I lovedCusack and Lane together, they never fully captured a sense of real romance.  Must Love Dogs will definitely entertain you.  It has some good comic moments, and utilized the mushy gushylovie events reasonably well.  The Verdict?  Not a winner, but by no means a loser.

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