Must Love Dogs
Must Love Dogs is far
from a great movie, but I liked it.
It is kind of clichéd.
The usually clever dialogue occasionally clunks. The film is full of
unbelievable coincidences. Writer/director Gary David Goldberg's
sitcom roots (Family Ties, Spin City) are often obvious. Like
every other film about an aging woman, there is a cutesy scene where she has
to sing a kitschy old pop song (this one is the Partridge Family's "Come On
Get Happy."). Even John Cusack, who is always interesting to watch,
seems to be phoning it in a bit.
But I still liked it.
Most of this falls straight
in the capable hands of Diane Lane, who is impressive as an aging glamour
actress who is willing to play her age without apology or pretense.
Lane plays Sarah, a recent divorcée who is so distraught over her divorce
that she withdraws from the dating race. She has convinced herself
that she is best off suffering alone than taking a chance of getting hurt
again.
Problem is, her loudly
flamboyant (and very nosy) family can't stand to see her single, so she is
constantly being fixed up with guys. Then her sister (Elizabeth
Perkins) puts her on a singles web site. Sarah goes on a series of
disastrous dates, all of which make her sure that she was right to give up
on love.
Cusack plays Jake, who has
also been gutted by romance and is also now determined to sit on the bench when
it comes to women. A buddy signs him up for a date with Sarah, and
although they have two insanely uncomfortable dates, we are expected to
believe that there is a spark. The two are charming together, even
when Cusack isn't hitting on all cylinders they seem the kind of couple that
should work. So, it is surprising, though not shocking, when they are
consumed by lust at the end of the second bad date. However, a series
of miscues stops them from acting on their passion.
Just when she may have found
a potential love interest, Sarah is blindsided by a handsome divorcé (Dermot
Mulroney) who starts seriously flirting with her. He's gorgeous, he's
charming, he's confident... will Sarah pick him or the overly intense,
neurotic Jake?
You know the answer as well
as I do. It doesn't mean you can't enjoy the ride getting there.
(7/05)
Jay
S. Jacobs
Copyright ©2005 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved.
Posted: July 24, 2005.
