Movie Review for Must Love Dogs

Summary: 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 has been divorced for eight months, which is much too long for her family to bear. With the best 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 and Christine, eager to line up potential suitors, and their widowed father Bill, 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, 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, an idealist who measures romance by a Dr. Shivago 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, 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?

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By Kevin Carr of 7M Pictures (7/0)
            think of Must Love Dogs as a You’ve Got Mail without Norah Ephron’s neuroses

By Mike McGranaghan of Aisle Seat (7/0)
            Everything that happens here has happened in dozens of romantic comedies before. If you’re thinki...

By Cheryl DeWolfe of Apollo Guide (7/0)
            Sweet, funny, touching, and contemporary.

By Mike DeWolfe of Apollo Guide (7/0)
            I like the characters and the story but find that the film just doesn’t go the distance in some a...

By Eleanor Ringel Gillespie of Atlanta Journal-Constitution (5/2)
            A somewhat generic romantic comedy blessed with a generous heart, bright dialogue and irresistibl...

By Lori Hoffman of Atlantic City Weekly (7/0)
            I wish [Lane and Cusack] had a better script to work with in this cyber-dating comedy ...

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By Kimberly Jones of Austin Chronicle (7/0)
            It’s hard to cheer for a film that wears a slight sneer when it comes to its leading lady.

By Neil Smith of BBC (7/0)
            Cusack in particular seems to have embellished his role with an assortment of verbal quirks that ...

By Neil Smith of BBC (7/0)
            Cusack in particular seems to have embellished his role with an assortment of verbal quirks that ...

By Emily Blunt of Blunt Review (7/0)
            Tall handsome actor seeking willing audience...

By Rob Thomas of Capital Times (Madison, WI) (7/0)
            Whenever Cusack is on screen, the energy level of the movie just jumps up.

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (7/0)
            Must Love Dogs is like a puppy with big brown eyes and a wagging tail who weeps with eagerness to...

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By Michael Wilmington of Chicago Tribune (7/0)
            Must Love Dogs, though, has some things a lot of today's romantic comedies don't have and need ba...

By David Sterritt of Christian Science Monitor (7/0)
            Must Love Dogs isn't quite a dog, but it's far from an ideal date movie.

By Camerin Courtney of Christianity Today (7/0)
            I wouldn't call the movie a dog, but I didn't love it either. Our search for the next Great Roman...

By Jules Brenner of Cinema Signals (7/0)
            One big product placement for a commercial dating service on the web. Its URL is only mentioned ...

By Karina Montgomery of Cinerina (7/0)
            Nowhere near as good as its stars due to stagy dialogue, but still a sweet experience.

By Paul Clinton (CNN.com) of CNN.com (7/0)
            Calling it a dog is an insult to canines.

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By Mark Palermo of Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) (7/0)
            These everyday people are easier to relate to than typical romantic comedy subjects, but they’re ...

By Jeffrey M. Anderson of Combustible Celluloid (7/0)
            This may be the summer's only film not aimed at teenage boys, but it still feels unshaped and und...

By Edward Douglas of ComingSoon.net (7/0)
            Lane and Cusack transcend the formulaic nature of the romantic comedy genre

By Harvey S. Karten of Compuserve (7/0)
            Rolls over and plays dead.

By Matt Weitz of Dallas Morning News (7/0)
            The latest installment in film's ongoing habit of hooking itself up, Iditarod-like, to man's best...

By Boo Allen of Denton Record Chronicle (TX) (7/0)
            The standard romantic comedy is in desperate need of more dogs.

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By John J. Puccio of DVDTown.com (7/0)
            Must Love Dogs could have used a longer leash and a lot more frolicking in the park.

By Erik Childress of eFilmCritic.com (7/0)
            A romantic comedy so generic that its label AND what’s inside is nothing but a black-and-white ch...

By Uri Lessing of eFilmCritic.com (7/0)
            ...homosexual characters in romantic comedies serve the same role that Eunuchs did in the ancient...

By Emanuel Levy of EmanuelLevy.Com (7/0)
            Diane Lane is too sexy and bright to play a bland divorcee whose decision for the evening is whet...

By Emma Cochrane of Empire Magazine (7/0)
            If only the whole script had been as sharp as some of Cusack’s caustic one-liners, then this migh...

By Eric Lurio of Entertainment Insiders (7/0)
             Perfect for a girl's night out.

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By Eric D. Snider of EricDSnider.com (7/0)
            The dialogue in general is a notch above the norm, snappy and tight and remarkably unlike the dri...

By Eugene Novikov of Film Blather (7/0)
            Formula is forgivable; roteness less so.

By David Noh of Film Journal International (7/0)
            If not for the talent and natural charisma of its star, Diane Lane, this would be an entirely wor...

By Sean O'Connell of filmcritic.com (7/0)
            Even vehicles on autopilot eventually reach their destinations, and Dogs proves to be an easy rid...

By Brian Orndorf of FilmJerk.com (7/0)
            Only in Hollywood would people make movies about how Diane Lane has trouble finding dates.

By Susan Michals of FilmStew.com (7/0)
            Male, early 60s, looking to rekindle the magic of earlier hit TV shows with a stab at big screen ...

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By MaryAnn Johanson of Flick Filosopher (7/0)
            [T]ries way too hard. Watching the movie is like being on a first date, it’s trying so earnestly ...

By Rob Vaux of Flipside Movie Emporium (7/0)
            Dragging your boyfriend/husband to this movie will give him the leverage to demand multiple scree...

By Bill Clark of FromTheBalcony (7/0)
            Must Love Dogs is finished with the cookie cutter; it's time to pass it on.

By Jeffrey Lyles of Gazette (MD) (7/0)
            The makers of "Must Love Dogs" clearly have an affection towards canines but they didn’t seem to ...

By Peter Canavese of Groucho Reviews (7/0)
            Cutesy stuff, breezily amusing but...a basically weightless and disposable date movie.

By Ross Anthony of Hollywood Report Card (7/0)
            Sharply written script in the dialogue department. But the chemistry element wanes and a heart el...

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By Steve Rhodes of Internet Reviews (7/0)
            Lane and Cusack create characters who are genuine, funny and romantic.

By Jackie K. Cooper of jackiekcooper.com (7/0)
            To say Diane Lane would have trouble finding a date moves this movie into the science fiction rea...

By John Coulbourn of Jam! Movies (7/0)
            Beware! Every time you're just about to settle back into mature romantic comedy mode as if it wer...

By Andrea Chase of Killer Movie Reviews (7/0)
            If [it] ends with a painfully contrived set piece, it also . . . adds rowing lessons to the metap...

By Linda Cook of KWQC-TV (Iowa) (7/0)
            Despite its stars, despite its premise, and despite the presence of cute canines, "Must Love Dogs...

By Robert Roten of Laramie Movie Scope (7/0)
            What went wrong? The script is a bit dodgy and the actors seem to be going through the motions.

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By Prairie Miller of Long Island Press (7/0)
            A goofy, euphoric amorous adventure in matchmaking cyberspace.

By Carina Chocano of Los Angeles Times (7/0)
            It takes Lane, John Cusack, Dermot Mulroney, Elizabeth Perkins, Stockard Channing and Christopher...

By Sue Pierman of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (7/0)
            Must Love Dogs makes a good first impression -- it's smart, funny and entertaining. But as the re...

By Susan Granger of Modamag.com (7/0)
            "Charming and sweet, wrapping a leash around your heart."

By Jan Stuart of Newsday (7/0)
            It manages to rework genre conventions with an exuberant wit and an authentic feel for the fits-a...

By Jeffrey Westhoff of Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) (7/0)
            Writer-director Gary David Goldberg relies so much on the predetermined beats of sitcom writing t...

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By Frank Swietek of One Guy's Opinion (7/0)
            If you love this movie, you're figuratively obeying the title's injunction.

By Steve Schneider of Orlando Weekly (7/0)
            It works. That's the most and the least that can be said of this frequently funny romcom.

By Dennis Schwartz of Ozus' World Movie Reviews (7/0)
            Tepid sitcom romantic-comedy that's not a bow-wow but never gets out of the doghouse.

By Dennis Schwartz of Ozus' World Movie Reviews (7/0)
            Tepid sitcom romantic-comedy that's not a bow-wow but never gets out of the doghouse.

By Jeanne Aufmuth of Palo Alto Weekly (7/0)
            Its flaws are patently obvious and they aren’t pretty.

By Cynthia Fuchs of PopMatters (7/0)
            Sarah, per generic prescription, has her own set of confidants, including her sisters, her father...

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By Kam Williams of Princeton Town Topics (7/0)
            An insult to the viewer's intelligence, which sticks to silly slapstick while failing to get arou...

By David N. Butterworth of rec.arts.movies.reviews (7/0)
            Attractive, witty, and exceedingly cute movie seeks undiscerning viewers for good times and more!

By David Nusair of Reel Film Reviews (7/0)
            ...the film is ultimately difficult to resist, though it's clear that those who generally dislike...

By Mark Pfeiffer of Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema (7/0)
            For better and worse, the pieces comprising Must Love Dogs are borrowed from every other romantic...

By Sarah Chauncey of Reel.com (7/0)
            Such great performances... Such a dreadful movie.

By Laura Clifford of Reeling Reviews (7/0)
            ...packed with situations that only exist to provide punchlines and actors talking about love wit...

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By Betty Jo Tucker of ReelTalk Movie Reviews (7/0)
            Diane Lane, who's honed her acting craft to perfection, wins best in show here.

By James Berardinelli of ReelViews (7/0)
            Bland and forgettable -- a romantic comedy with affable characters and some funny lines, but wher...

By Peter Travers of Rolling Stone (7/0)
            Just when you think you have Goldberg figured, he springs fresh surprises.

By Bob Grimm of Sacramento News & Review (7/0)
            The Partridge Family sing-along almost killed me.

By Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com (7/0)
            It's ostensibly about adults, but there's nothing remotely adult about it.

By Larry Ratliff of San Antonio Express-News (7/0)
            Must Love Dogs ... unleashes snappy, smart dialogue that's good enough to make us want to sit and...

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By David Elliott of San Diego Union-Tribune (7/0)
            Some of the lines are pretty clever, but you need to have a very keen and sticky tolerance for do...

By Sean McBride of Sean the Movie Guy (7/0)
            a predictable and genial romantic comedy that’s not very romantic and never really all that funn

By William Arnold of Seattle Post-Intelligencer (7/0)
            It's not terrible: It offers a handful of funny and touching moments and maintains a level of cut...

By Moira MacDonald of Seattle Times (7/0)
            As fantasies go, you could do a lot worse.

By Rich Cline of Shadows on the Wall (7/0)
            Manages to be engaging, even though the plot is badly underdeveloped.

By Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine (7/0)
            To paraphrase some hackerish blurb I just heard on the shill-y E! network: Must Love Dogs is in t...

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of Spirituality and Practice (7/0)
            A lively romantic comedy, grounded by John Cusack as an intense idealist with wit and a big heart...

By Rob Blackwelder of SPLICEDWire (7/0)
            The film's curdled aftertaste is so frustrating that it may be hard to remember why Must Love Dog...

By Dustin Putman of TheMovieBoy.com (7/0)
            Lacks the requisite passion and urgency to make the experience anything more than a periodically ...

By Tony Medley of tonymedley.com (7/0)
            ...the first 75 minutes are sophomoric, foolish, unrealistic, unfunny, and contrived, if not puer...

By Angel Cohn of TV Guide's Movie Guide (7/0)
            The film makes no real impression; it's amiable, occasionally funny and indistinguishable from do...

By Urban Cinefile Critics of Urban Cinefile (7/0)
            Like a good song that makes you think it sounds familiar, when it is actually brand new, this gir...

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By Justin Chang of Variety (7/0)
            Even when it doesn't entirely succeed, Goldberg's literate screenplay has an old-fashioned, almos...

By Matthew Turner of ViewLondon (7/0)
            Diane Lane makes an extremely appealing lead and there's good chemistry between her and Cusack, p...

By Laura Sinagra of Village Voice (7/0)
            That's it. I'm divorcing Diane Lane.

By Willie Waffle of WaffleMovies.com (7/0)
            When a woman who looks like Diane Lane has to use the internet to find a date, something has gone...

By Jen Chaney of Washington Post (7/0)
            Stands as yet another example of how easy it is for filmmakers to fail at romantic comedy.

By John Wirt of Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) (3/4) No reference
            The film meanders to every predictable place possible. It's Screenwriting 101, including the big ...

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By Randy Cordova of Arizona Republic (6/1) No reference
            Must Love Dogs is a film that won't inspire love or hate. It's just sort of there: An inoffensive...

By Christopher Smith of Bangor Daily News (Maine) (6/1) No reference
            This lazily conceived movie wouldn't be much without the strength of its cast, which saves it the...

By Bridget Byrne of Boxoffice Magazine (3/4) No reference
            Too pat when it needs to be hairy, Must Love Dogs fails to find the undercurrents of complex emot...

By Pablo Villaca of Cinema em Cena (3/4) No reference
            Uma produção sem entusiasmo ou vida, o que é fatal para seus propósitos.

By Robert Denerstein of Denver Rocky Mountain News (3/4) No reference
            Must Love Dogs treats originality as if it were a disease, passing up almost every attempt to inc...

By Jeff Vice of Deseret News, Salt Lake City (6/1) No reference
            It works all right as sort of cinematic comfort food.

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By Richard Roeper of Ebert & Roeper (3/4) No reference
            John Cusack and Diane Lane need to put out personal ads saying, 'Must have screenplay.'

By Gabe Leibowitz of eCinemaCenter.com (3/4) No reference
            An inconsequential, harmless piece of moderately cute fluff

By Walter Chaw of Film Freak Central (3/4) No reference
            Not everything needs to be art, of course, so here goes your proof.

By Pete Vonder Haar of Film Threat (3/4) No reference
            The movie wastes the talents of its two leads by refusing to take any risks with the material, ma...

By Donald Munro of Fresno Bee (3/4) No reference
            The big, dumb movie of the summer for those who can remember Richard Nixon in the White House.

By James Sanford of James Sanford on Film (6/1) No reference
            Let me tell you: Having my feet scraped with a scapel and rubbed down with acid by my podiatrist ...

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By John Patterson of L.A. Weekly (3/4) No reference
            At once over- and under-written, and peppered with tiresome coincidences and misunderstandings, G...

By Glenn Whipp of Los Angeles Daily News (3/4) No reference
            Bland, generic and showing every sign of having been market-tested to death.

By Jeff Strickler of Minneapolis Star Tribune (3/4) No reference
            Must Love Dogs proves that you can teach an old genre new tricks.

By Nell Minow of Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies (6/1) No reference
            Like the computer-ad dates on screen, this promises much more than it delivers.

By Michael Elliott of Movie Parables (6/1) No reference
            It is a charming, old-fashioned romantic comedy with enough modern touches to strike a chord with...

By James Rocchi of Netflix (3/4) No reference
            Even with a too-cute script, divorcee romantic comedy is passable thanks to the peanut butter/cho...

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By Luke Y. Thompson of New Times (5/2) No reference
            But the movie does find fresh ways to tweak the formula, making it more than the sum of its broad...

By Jami Bernard of New York Daily News (3/4) No reference
            Did Lane and John Cusack really have to put themselves through this? Here are two first-rate acto...

By Stephen Whitty of Newark Star-Ledger (3/4) No reference
            Lately, Hollywood has gotten so obsessed with doing big things badly, it seems to have forgotten ...

By Marc Mohan of Oregonian (3/4) No reference
            This is one of those utterly generic films that could easily have been spat out by some over-the-...

By Roger Moore of Orlando Sentinel (3/4) No reference
             It's OK to be retro with your screen romance, but retro shouldn't feel this inept.

By Forrest Hartman of Reno Gazette-Journal (6/1) No reference
            The best way to combat a lackluster script is good casting, and Diane Lane, John Cusack and Chris...

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By Mike Ward of Richmond.com (6/1) No reference
            Someone needs to stage an intervention with John Cusack. Call sister Joan, Jeremy Piven and the r...

By Phoebe Flowers of South Florida Sun-Sentinel (3/4) No reference
            What Must Love Dogs is ultimately insisting, after all, is that we all deserve to frolic merrily ...

By Josh Larsen of Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) (3/4) No reference
            ...enough doses of the real world to elevate it above your average romantic-comedy fantasty.

By Angela Baldassarre of Sympatico.ca (3/4) No reference
            This Dog is hard to love. Cusack and Lane wasted in love story.

By Dan Fienberg of Zap2it.com (6/1) No reference
            There's no compelling reason why these two characters ought to be compatible except that their na...

By Lawrence Toppman of Charlotte Observer (6/1) Not Reachable
            Must Love Dogs reminds me of the golden retriever that lived next door long ago: endearing, consi...

                         Reviews of Must Love Dogs
By Mary F. Pols of Contra Costa Times (6/1) Not Reachable
            There is an extremely supportive and welcoming market for an actress like this in the right roman...

By Connie Ogle of Miami Herald (6/1) Not Reachable
            A romantic comedy is only as irresistible as are its temporarily star-crossed lovers. By this bar...

By Chris Hewitt (St. Paul) of St. Paul Pioneer Press (3/4) Not Reachable
            Romantic comedies usually stand or fall on the likability of the leads, and the leads in Must Lov...

By Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone of TheMovieChicks.com (6/1) Not Reachable
            While you must love dogs, it's ok if you just really like the movie. What I love is the ma...

Movie Distributors

Production Companies
Team Todd
UBU Productions

Movie Studios
Warner Bros. Pictures
Inc.