Barnes & Noble

Erstwhile child star and glamour girl Diane Lane, having gotten much better with age, seems perfectly comfortable these days with roles calling for maturity and worldliness -- qualities Hollywood doesn't necessarily appreciate in today's leading ladies. Lane is especially good in this breezy romantic comedy, playing a recent divorcée approaching middle age and dreading the dating scene. At the insistence of her pushy older sister (Elizabeth Perkins), she enrolls with an online dating service and begins seeing various men, one of whom (John Cusack) makes a shockingly weak first impression but fascinates her anyway. Director Gary David Goldberg, who also wrote the script, is a TV veteran whose hit series include Family Ties and Spin City. It shouldn't be surprising, therefore, that the situations and dialogue have the facile quality associated with sitcoms; at times it seems as though the characters aren't having authentic conversations but, rather, tossing one-liners at each other. Still, the lines are generally clever and the characters reasonably well drawn. Dermot Mulroney, for example, plays a single dad who woos Lane while simultaneously romancing one of her co-workers. It would have been easy to make him a two-dimensional creep, but to his credit, Goldberg makes the guy more likable than he needs to be. Lane, too, is depicted as judgmental and a bit too quick to bristle -- qualities with which all of us can relate but which aren't too off-putting. Somewhat less essential to the film's structure, but cleverly developed in its own right, is a subplot involving Lane's widowed father (Christopher Plummer) and his slightly frowsy girl friend (Stockard Channing). Obtrusive though it occasionally seems, this material hits a receptive chord because Goldberg makes us care about the oldsters and gives them an equal share of snappy things to say. But this is Lane's show all the way; she effortlessly dominates every scene she's in, and you can't help but love her character even when she's being snotty. Noël Coward it ain't, but Must Love Dogs is a smart, sassy comedy for those old enough to appreciate how tough it can be to begin life's second act. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

A woman finds herself drafted into the battle of finding the perfect man in this romantic comedy. Sarah Nolan (Diane Lane) is a kindergarten teacher in her mid-thirties who is still dealing with the emotional aftermath of her divorce eight months ago. While her sisters, Christine (Ali Hillis) and Carol (Elizabeth Perkins), both think Sarah needs to start dating again, Sarah herself isn't so sure. Carol decides to force the issue by posting Sarah's photo and profile on an Internet dating site, and soon a number of seemingly eligible bachelors are sending her e-mails in hopes of a date. However, nearly every man she meets turns out to be a loser, with the exception of Jake (John Cusack), who is smart, good looking, and even brings along a dog for their walk in the park (though he doesn't tell her the pooch was borrowed for the occasion). However, Sarah also makes the acquaintance of Bob (Dermot Mulroney), the divorced father of one of her students, and she finds herself having to choose between two potentially worthwhile men. Meanwhile, Sarah's widowed father, Bill (Christopher Plummer), decides to give Internet dating a try, and lands himself a new steady in Dolly (Stockard Channing). Must Love Dogs is based on the best-selling novel of the same title by Claire Cook. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 012569593459
• Source: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Time: 1:38:00
• Sales Rank: 17,635

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Must Love Dogs/You've Got Mail

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