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Must Love Dogs (2005) Certificate 12

Must Love Dogs
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Rated 3.0 stars
Average rating
(57%)
 
Starring: Diane Lane | John Cusack | Elizabeth Perkins | Ali Hillis | Christopher Plummer | Stockard Channing | Dermot Mulroney
Director: Gary David Goldberg
Studio: WARNER HOME VIDEO
Run time: 98 mins
Collections: 100 Rom-Coms
Genres: Audio Descriptive | Comedy | Romance
Languages: English, English Audio Description
Dubbed: French
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Released: February 06, 2006

John Cusack and Diane Lane star in this romantic comedy titled after a personal ad on the Internet. Eight months after getting divorced, downtrodden preschool teacher Sarah (Lane) is wary of re-entering the dating pool. Seeing her reluctance as a cry for help, Sarah's large, jovial family plans an intervention. While Sarah does not appreciate being bombarded by photographs and phone numbers of potential mates (half of whom are married), even she can see that her most meaningful relationship should not be with her brother's dog a loveable Newfoundland named Mother Theresa. After Sara answers personal ads with less-than-thrilling results, her sister Carol (Elizabeth Perkins) takes things into her own hands, secretly posting an online-dating profile on Sarah's behalf. In a familiar montage of first-date scenarios, Sarah meets one unappealing prospective bachelor after another: one who can't stop talking about himself, another who can't stop crying, one with an affinity for bondage, etc. But when she meets recently divorced Jake (Cusack), something clicks. While their meeting is somewhat awkward, it makes enough of an impression on Jake that he wants a second chance. From here, the two embark on a clumsy courtship complicated by misunderstandings, mishaps, and another equally charming suitor, Bob (Dermot Mulroney). While doing her best to navigate the unfamiliar world of modern-day romance, Sarah learns that sometimes finding Mr. Right means taking a chance. Christopher Plummer and Stockard Channing are excellent in their respective roles as Sarah's widowed father, Bill, and his new girlfriend (a compulsive Internet-dater) Dolly.

Highest rated reviews

44 out of 50 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 4 stars
must love dogs

A Customer from uk, 29th December, 2005

I have rarely seen a romantic comedy as entertaining and fun as Must Love Dogs is. The premise may sound familiar but the way it is executed is very fresh and new. The director obviously knows what he is doing with regard to the comedy and entertainment of the film. Diane Lane is terrific in this film and proves once again that she has good comic timing as well as her ability in tougher more serious fare. John Cusack and the other actors also put in top-notch performances that are both realistic and very amusing. There are several laugh out loud moments and some future classic scenes. All in all Must Love Dogs is a winner and it's fun and entertaining formula is first rate

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18 out of 21 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 1 stars
Hmm, John Cusack

DavB from Surrey, 25th February, 2006

Well John Cusack hasn't really made a good movie in the last 10 years... this doesn't turn things around. Mindless and full of cheese with extra cheese on top.

There are better ways to spend 90 minutes.

At least it's a family movie.

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16 out of 19 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 3 stars
Better than average romantic comedy

RockAndRollMachine from Cheshire, 17th February, 2006

These days, I shudder when I hear the phrase "romantic comedy" as it usually denotes a film that is calculated to induce vomit, but this rose above expectations.

Most romantic comedies are written to a formula: girl meets boy; girl resists boy; girl falls for boy; girl upsets boy; girl chases boy away; girl redeems herself with boy; girl gets boy. Reverse the sexes for boy meets girl films.

'Must Love Cats' is no different, but it is witty and charming along the way without being too patronising and melodramatic. Underpinning all this are some strong performances by the cast .

Don't expect to be challenged too much, but it's enjoyable enough if you're in the mood for it, and a whole lot better than most romantic comedies that are knocking about.

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14 out of 18 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 1 stars
MUST NOT RENT

smelly77 from , 13th July, 2006

to say this film was AYBSMAL would be to OVER-RATE it..... i could spend hours typing out what is wrong with it,but i wasted enough off my time renting it...

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Most recent reviews

Rated 1 stars
Must love what dog?????

A Customer from Brixham, 18th February, 2010

I rented this film because I was tempted by the Newfoundland dog, however it only appeared about 5 times during the film and wasnt really part of the storyline. This was disappointing as it was a large part of the write up/dvd cover - so if you were thinking of doing the same...

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Rated 4 stars
fab

A Customer from London, 5th February, 2010

fab feelgood fiLm. :) wanna see it again..

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Rated 1 stars
oh my god

A Customer from uk, 14th January, 2010

the worst film in the world, do not waste your time

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Rated 2 stars
Must love dross

Duzzbob from , 30th December, 2009

Ok, the title of my review is a little harsh as there are worse romantic comedies you could watch, but overall I was disappointed with Must Love Dogs. John Cusack - usually a very reliable leading man - seems to be on auto pilot throughout and his romance with Diane Lanes character just didn't seem real to me. The final kiss at the deli counter in the supermarket is quite laughable, and not in a good way. If you stumbled across this on TV then it's worth a look, but I wouldn't recommend renting / buying it.

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