SYNOPSIS

Dating is never easy. Early in the search for love, people find the golden formula for meeting a soul mate is one part humiliation, two parts aggravation, and a little blind luck thrown in for the fortunate.
Today's dating game is a blur of websites, speed lunches and hordes of friends and relatives who know just the wrong person for you.

Thirty-something pre-school teacher Sarah Nolan (DIANE LANE) has been divorced for eight months, which is much too long for her co-workers and family to bear. With the best of intentions and only her happiness in mind, Sarah's sisters, Carol (ELIZABETH PERKINS) and Christine (ALI HILLIS), begin lining up less-than-savory potential suitors. Meanwhile, their widowed father, Bill (CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER), is way ahead of the curve, having already cornered the market on internet dates, including his new web squeeze, the free-spirited Dolly (STOCKARD CHANNING).

Eager to launch her sister's cyber-dating debut, Carol pretends to be Sarah, goes online and puts her profile on perfectmatch.com, with the last line being "Must love dogs."

Sarah soon endures a torrent of eager wannabes and one very possible maybe, the handsome and accomplished but surprisingly awkward web date Jake (JOHN CUSACK) as well as Bob (DERMOT MULRONEY), the newly-divorced dad of one of her students, a hot prospect who may prove too good to be true.

As she braves a series of hilariously disastrous mismatches and first dates, Sarah begins to trust her own instincts again and learns that, no matter what, it's never a good idea to give up on love.

Based on the best-selling book by Claire Cook, Must Love Dogs is written, directed and produced by three-time Emmy Award winner Gary David Goldberg. Also producing is the team of Jennifer Todd and Suzanne Todd, with Brad Hall and Ronald G. Smith serving as executive producers. John Bailey, A.S.C., is the director of photography; Eric Sears, A.C.E. and Roger Bondelli, A.C.E. are the editors; and Naomi Shohan is the production designer. Florence-Isabelle Megginson and Gamila Smith are the costume designers.

Review by
PETER "PapaBear" CRUIKSHANK

Sometimes you don’t even need to be watching the screen to determine if a movie is any good or not. Sometimes you can just tell by the number and intensity of the “Ooohs” and “Aaahs” you hear around you. Using this as a meter, Must Love Dogs is going to be a big success. Sitting in the theater I had three teenage girls in the row ahead of me with two women and an elderly couple in the row behind. So I got an earful of Ooohs and Aaahs in stereo. But even without this accurate means of measurement I can tell you that the film will be a smash.

Must Love Dogs is a story about Sarah (Diane Lane) a preschool teacher whose husband, as Sarah says “just quit loving her”, has left her and re-married a younger woman. And no matter how much she wants to forget about men, her large Irish family all have perspective dates that they keep pushing on her. As anyone who comes from a large family, or is married into one, can tell you -- you are never along and EVERYONE has an opinion. This is the case with Sarah as her sister posts an internet personal ad for Sarah. That’s when it gets interesting.

Promoted as a Romantic Comedy, this movie lived up to the genre. But it was even funnier than most films in this category. This comes primarily from the one-liners and the interesting situations that Sarah finds herself in.

When I saw this movie I was on business travel and ended up at the theater by myself. However, when I get back home I will definitely take my wife to see it. This movie is great as a couples’ movie or for women (generally in groups). But I don’t think you will see too many men in the theater by themselves (well, of course unless they are doing a movie review :0).

John Cusack provides his normal off-the-wall character as John Anderson; which for this script, fits in perfectly. He and Diane Lane are well matched and you aren’t sitting there wondering how these two could ever get together, as I have with some romantic comedies. A great supporting cast only added to my enjoyment of the film. Elizabeth Perkins (Carol) plays the perfect interfering sister who won’t give up on her Sarah. Christopher Plummer, who plays Sarah’s widowed father, Bill, adds a distinguished flavor to the story. At 70+ years, and having already experienced the “love of his life”, he gives everyone out there hope as he still ventures out into the dating world. And to complement Plummer’s character, Stockard Channing (Dolly) provides an excellent performance and the women’s view to accompany Plummer’s.

What I really liked about the movie was that regardless of all the disappoints, in both Diane and John’s lives, they still had hope in love (of course they had to be pushed initially). But his is kind of like life and also our relationship with God. Without love life really doesn’t have much meaning. The importance of love in our lives has been evident since the beginning of mankind. There are probably more quotes about love than anything else. Some of the earliest quotes capture this theme. Even as far back as Aristotle “Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.”

So I am not surprised that Must Love Dogs will be a big hit. Combine comedy, the continuing search for love, and some good acting to bring this story to light; and you have a recipe for success.

At one point, during a Confirmation party for his grandson, Christopher Plummer’s character quotes a poem by William Butler Yeats, called Brown Penny. I don’t normally quote poems in my review, but I thought this one captured the essence of the film’s theme so eloquently.

I whispered, 'I am too young,'
And then, 'I am old enough';
Wherefore I threw a penny
To find out if I might love.
'Go and love, go and love, young man,
If the lady be young and fair.'
Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
I am looped in the loops of her hair.

O love is the crooked thing,
There is nobody wise enough
To find out all that is in it,
For he would be thinking of love
Till the stars had run away
And the shadows eaten the moon.
Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
One cannot begin it too soon.

This summarizes the storyline and the Message in the Movie. A penny represents the chance that we all take in life. Like tossing a penny in the air we are uncertain if it is the right time or that we may be too young (or too old) for love. But as the movie shows us, love does not care about your age or where you are in life. And as the film proves, if you find love, don’t give up and instead get lost in it (looped). But don’t think about it too much or you may lose sight of why you are in love – stay lost in the dream (till the stars run away). As with Sarah and John, take a risk -- throw your penny out there and see what you get in return. Have fun with this movie, and take someone you love to it.