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Must Love Dogs

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Must Love Dogs (2005)

35%
35%
47%
N/A
N/A
N/A
35 %
Reviews Counted: 142 Fresh: 50  Rotten:92 Average Rating: 4.9/10
 
Consensus: Despite good work from its likable leads, the romantic comedy Must Love Dogs is too predictable.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins

Theatrical Release: Jul 29, 2005 Wide

Box Office: $43,784,274

Synopsis: Dating has never been easy. The time-honored search for a soul mate has always been one part humiliation, two parts aggravation, and a little blind luck thrown in for the fortunate. Today's version of the game can be a blur of websites, speed lunches and hordes of friends and relatives who... Dating has never been easy. The time-honored search for a soul mate has always been one part humiliation, two parts aggravation, and a little blind luck thrown in for the fortunate. Today's version of the game can be a blur of websites, speed lunches and hordes of friends and relatives who know just the "right" person for you. Thirty-something preschool teacher Sarah Nolan (DIANE LANE) has been divorced for eight months, which is much too long for her family to bear. With the best of intentions and only her happiness in mind, they stage an intervention in an all-out effort to get her out of pajamas and back into the dating scene, one way or another. Leading the charge are Sarah's sisters, Carol (ELIZABETH PERKINS) and Christine (ALI HILLIS), eager to line up potential suitors, and their widowed father Bill (CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER), who sets a fine example with his own recent and very successful foray into the internet dating realm. Bill has lately been seeing the free-spirited Dolly (STOCKARD CHANNING), whom he met online, along with a number of other ladies whose names his daughters can't quite keep track of. Eager to launch their sister's own cyber-dating debut, Carol and Christine pretend to be Sarah and post her profile on perfectmatch.com, with the enticing message, "Voluptuous, sensuous, alluring and fun. DWF seeks special man to share starlit nights. Must love dogs." And wait for the responses to pour in. Sarah soon endures a series of hilariously disastrous mismatches and first dates as the website offers up a stream of eager wannabes and one possible maybe - awkward but intriguing boat builder Jake Anderson (JOHN CUSACK), an idealist who measures romance by a Dr. Zhivago standard. A little on the intense side, Jake might be looking for more than Sarah wants right now. Meanwhile, at work, there's a new distraction - Bob Connor (DERMOT MULRONEY), the newly separated dad of one of her young students. Charming and relaxed, Bob seems made to order, the perfect guy…but is he just too good to be true? Based on the best-selling book by Claire Cook, and written and directed by two-time Emmy Award winner Gary David Goldberg, Must Love Dogs follows the comic, bumpy and ultimately rewarding journey of a woman cautiously rediscovering romance and learning to trust her own instincts again. Because, as her family enthusiastically reminds her, it's never a good idea to give up on love. Warner Bros. Pictures presents an UBU / Team Todd Production: Diane Lane and John Cusack star in Must Love Dogs, also starring Dermot Mulroney, Elizabeth Perkins, with Stockard Channing and Christopher Plummer. Must Love Dogs is directed by Gary David Goldberg and produced by Suzanne Todd, Jennifer Todd and Gary David Goldberg from a screenplay by Gary David Goldberg, based on the novel by Claire Cook. Brad Hall and Ronald G. Smith are executive producers. Director of photography is John Bailey, A.S.C.; production designer, Naomi Shohan; and editors, Eric Sears, A.C.E., and Roger Bondelli, A.C.E... Music is by Craig Armstrong. Must Love Dogs will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. Soundtrack album on EPIC/SONY MUSIC SOUNDTRAX. This film is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for "sexual content." -- © Warner Bros. [More]

Genre: Romance

Starring: Diane Lane, John Cusack, Elizabeth Perkins, Ali Hillis, Christopher Plummer

Director: Gary David Goldberg
Screenwriter: Gary David Goldberg
Producer: Jennifer Todd, Suzanne Todd
Composer: Craig Armstrong

DVD Info

Release:

Dec 20, 2005

[DVD Details]
  • Must Love Dogs
  • Must Love Dogs tells the story of Sarah Nolan (Diane Lane), a newly divorced woman cautiously rediscovering romance with the enthusiastic but often misguided help of her well-meaning family. As she braves a series of hilarious 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.
  • Source: Warner Home Video
  • Buy It On DVD

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    Ratings Image
    N/A

    A goofy, euphoric amorous adventure in matchmaking cyberspace.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    05/13/07
    Prairie Miller
    Long Island Press
    Ratings Image
    1/4

    An insult to the viewer's intelligence, which sticks to silly slapstick while failing to get around to making a mature statement about relationships.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    05/07/07
    Kam Williams
    Princeton Town Topics
    Ratings Image
    N/A

    If not for the talent and natural charisma of its star, Diane Lane, this would be an entirely worthless enterprise.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    03/01/07
    David Noh
    Film Journal International
    Ratings Image
    2.5/4

    I wouldn't call the movie a dog, but I didn't love it either. Our search for the next Great Romantic Comedy, like so many Hollywood singletons' quest for love, continues.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    09/27/06
    Camerin Courtney
    Christianity Today
    Ratings Image
    C

    What went wrong? The script is a bit dodgy and the actors seem to be going through the motions.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    09/24/06
    Robert Roten
    Laramie Movie Scope
    Ratings Image
    3/4

    ...the film is ultimately difficult to resist, though it's clear that those who generally dislike this sort of thing will really hate this.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    02/25/06
    David Nusair
    Reel Film Reviews
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review | comment Comment
    02/09/06
    Time Out
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
    Ratings Image
    5/10

    Must Love Dogs could have used a longer leash and a lot more frolicking in the park.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    02/03/06
    John J. Puccio
    DVDTown.com
    N/R

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    Full Review | comment Comment
    01/17/06
    Sydney Morning Herald
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    Ratings Image
    6/10

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    Full Review | comment Comment
    12/16/05
    JoBlo
    JoBlo's Movie Emporium
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    1.5/5

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    Full Review | comment Comment
    12/06/05
    Film Threat
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
    Ratings Image
    N/A

    Like a good song that makes you think it sounds familiar, when it is actually brand new, this girl meets boy story is simply crammed with appealing elements

    Full Review | comment Comment
    10/02/05
    Urban Cinefile Critics
    Urban Cinefile
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    1/4

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    Full Review | comment Comment
    09/30/05
    Scott Nash
    Three Movie Buffs
    N/R

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    Full Review | comment Comment
    09/26/05
    Onion AV Club
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
    Ratings Image
    3/5

    Diane Lane makes an extremely appealing lead and there's good chemistry between her and Cusack, perhaps because of their shared history at the edges of the Brat Pack in the 1980s.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    09/24/05
    Matthew Turner
    ViewLondon
    Ratings Image
    2/5

    Cusack in particular seems to have embellished his role with an assortment of verbal quirks that suggest he wasn't too happy with what was on the page.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    09/24/05
    Neil Smith
    BBC
    N/R

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    Full Review | comment Comment
    09/16/05
    David Edwards
    Daily Mirror [UK]
    Ratings Image
    2/5

    If only the whole script had been as sharp as some of Cusack’s caustic one-liners, then this might have appealed to more than just the Chardonnay brigade.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    09/16/05
    Emma Cochrane
    Empire Magazine
    Ratings Image
    C+

    This lazily conceived movie wouldn't be much without the strength of its cast, which saves it the string of cliches that might have buried it.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    09/01/05
    Christopher Smith
    Bangor Daily News (Maine)
    Ratings Image
    N/A

    Let me tell you: Having my feet scraped with a scapel and rubbed down with acid by my podiatrist was more enjoyable than sitting through this miserable film.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    08/30/05
    James Sanford
    James Sanford on Film
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    A WONDERFUL FILM! - Funny and entertaining!
    by: M.J. 1/28/07


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