Must Love Dogs
Tags: romantic

Plot synopsis:
Sarah Nolan, an attractive 40-year-old divorced preschool teacher, is urged by her family to date more. Although they show her photos of men with whom they want to set her up, Sarah does not seem interested in pursuing any relationships. Jake Anderson, another recent divorcee, finds himself in a similar position; his lawyer, Charlie, wants to set him up with a woman named Sherry. However, Jake would rather focus on creating his handcrafted boats.
Sarah's sister Carol visits and they discuss Bob Connor, a parent from school. Sarah is attracted to him but does not want anything complicated. Carol reveals she set up an ad for Sarah on an online dating site, perfectmatch.com, using a picture from Sarah's high school graduation. The description declares she is voluptuous and that her dates "must love dogs" (Sarah is currently caring for her brother Michael's Newfoundland dog, "Mother Teresa", while he goes through his own marital problems). Sarah proceeds to suffer through several disastrous dates with men who cannot stop crying, are criminal, or like girls who are barely legal.
Jake is confronted by Sherry at an art gallery; she is curious why he did not call her, but again Jake does not seem interested. Charlie then hands him a printout of Sarah's dating profile and tells Jake he has a date with her the next day at a dog park. The date proves to be awkward: Jake shows up with a borrowed terrier and offends Sarah when he begins to analyze her profile. Even worse, he reveals that the dog is not really his. When she accuses him of being deceptive he points out that the requirement was "Must love dogs," not "Must own a dog." Sarah leaves abruptly but agrees to see him again.
Sarah and Jake go on a dinner date where he asks her why she is not with her husband anymore. She explains that he just stopped loving her and that he was never ready to have children. Sarah acknowledges that her ex-husband is now with a woman fifteen years younger than she with a baby on the way. The date progresses back to Sarah's house where they discover that neither has a condom. They hastily drive around but when they finally find protection neither of them is in the mood.
Jake and Charlie are discussing Sarah when he admits that she intrigued him. That night, Jake tries to call Sarah. Meanwhile, Sarah has connected with Bob Connor. She checks to see if Bob is home but discovers he is with June, one of her co-workers. Sarah assumes they are on a date, and while fleeing the scene she drops her wallet. Sarah arrives home to find her brother Michael, who is drunkenly dealing with his own marital problems, and Jake, who has been taking care of him. Jake takes Sarah rowing and they share a kiss. Afterward he takes Michael home while Sarah lights candles and sets the mood. But Bob shows up instead of Jake. He returns her wallet, explains that he and June are not involved, and then kisses Sarah just as Jake gets back. Jake leaves, upset.
Around Thanksgiving Sarah calls Bob and they go to a hotel and have sex. In the morning Bob is rude to Sarah and during the drive home Sarah realizes that he really did sleep with June. He admits he didn't tell her because he thought they were good together and didn't want that getting in the way. Meanwhile, Jake is talked into taking Sherry to see Doctor Zhivago. Sarah notices Jake leaving the theater afterward, but while discussing the film with him she notices Sherry and realizes the two of them are on a date. Sarah flees again, and when Sherry asks Jake up to her apartment, he declines and instead walks home.
Jake runs into a man named Bill outside a coffee shop, not realizing that this man is Sarah's father. When Jake confesses that he is heartbroken, Bill mentions that he has a daughter who is single but Jake declines. While drinking coffee with Sarah later, Bill quotes something that Jake said to him and Sarah realizes that Jake was talking about her. She heads over to Jake's with Mother Teresa, but he is out on the lake with his boat. When Jake can't hear her yelling from the shore she convinces a girls crew team to take her out to him. Eventually she dives in and swims over to his boat. After climbing in Sarah tells Jake how she feels about him and they kiss. Later, when telling the story of how they met, they mention in unison that they found each other at a dog park.

Review: She then finds herself caught between two men, as she starts seeing the father of one her students (Mulroney) and a man who she meets through the dating service who seems far too perfect (Cusack).Must Love Dogs is a familiar yet enjoyable romantic comedy that should keep you entertained for a while.
The film works well because of its two stars John Cusack and Diane Lane.
The rest of the supporting cast consists of Elizabeth Perkins, Christopher Plummer, Stockard Channing and Julie Gonzalo.A few things are keeping me from rating the film higher.
While John Cusack escapes most of the embarrassment (he has the best lines, and the best performance), it is still a film beneath him.The movie has too many false moments in it to be entirely enjoyed - the obligatory gay friend Diane has, and of course his drop dead gorgeous model-like boyfriend; the large Irish family that seems to drop their accents from scene to scene; the trailer-park girlfriend; Diane's scene where she just shows up at Cusack's home (how did she know where to go, and what was her hurry?); and of course the 'chase' scene at the end where of course she had to bring her dog.
( Plain, slightly boring, inoffensive) John Cusack and Diane Lane play angst ridden characters, slightly caricatured ( no one I know is quite as oddball as Jake- is Cusack being typecast?- or quite as neurotic as Sarah).
Christopher Plummer as the Dad was a shock ( esp with Irish accent) - but Stockard Channing plays the girlfriend very well - mature aged vanity and all.I liked this movie - a pleasant way to end a Monday night....
John Cusack and Diane Lane, two of the most interesting actors working today, make this somewhat predictable romantic comedy work.
They flesh out characters from a pretty weak script, and make you want to know those characters better.This film is not rocket science, but if you expect to enjoy a bit of romantic fluff, you will not be disappointed.
If he was really a great guy, wouldn't he continue to act that way?Also, the script never seems sure whether it wants Diane Lane's character to be comical or touching.
Yes, it is much of what the reviewers said, but John Cusack and Diane Lane were just great to watch play their parts.
I particularly like romantic comedies, and I will buy this movie the day it comes out on DVD.
I was surprised to find that this wasn't 'Must Love Dogs' director Gary David Goldberg's first attempt at film direction and feature screen writing.
The steering of his own script adaptation was plodding at best, only made passable by the spirited and professional performances from the stars Diane Lane and John Cusack.
My company publishes The New York Dog Magazine and The Hollywood Dog Magazine and some of our staff (four women in their 20s) saw a preview of the movie yesterday (we have Diane Lane and John Cusack on the cover of our new issue).
The movie is never as good as the book, but this one comes close, and I'm a big fan of all of Claire Cook's books, especially Must Love Dogs and Multiple Choice.
Diane Lane, John Cusack, Christopher Plummer, Stockard Channing, Elizabeth Perkins are all so good in it.
Diane Lane was great and very sweet (nice looking too!) and John Cusack stole his scenes with his usual offbeat charisma.
Add into the mix other great performances from a support cast including Stockard Channing, Elizabeth Perkins, Dermot Mulroney and Christopher Plummer and you have a very interesting and entertaining comedy with a lot to recommend it for.
Anyway, so I went to see Must Love Dogs, and still thought it would be OK because John Cusack is a very charismatic actor, and Diane Lane is quite appealing.
And I really hated seeing a fine actress like Stockard Channing play a nutty, in-denial, hairspray up-to-here, desperate woman who puts up with her man's roving eye 'cause he's 'worth it.'But what really got my goat was Diane Lane's character.
The film seemed to have potential, two great stars, Diane Lane and John Cusack, a contemporary topic full of comic and heartfelt pitfalls, internet dating, and of course man's best friend.
Case in point: Diane Lane's father (played by the wonderful Christopher Plummer who is the only reason I can give this film 2 stars) who surrounds himself with all three of his current lady-friends at family functions and decides which one he will sleep with that night, while foisting off the two unwanted women onto his family to drive home.
John Cusak, Diane Lane, Christopher Plummer, Stockard Channing, and Elizabeth Perkins I mean, come on, wow what a cast!!
The one thing that amazed me as I watched "Must Love Dogs" was the cast - Diane Lane, John Cusack, Elizabeth Perkins, Dermot Mulroney, Stockard Channing, Christopher Plummer.What were these folks thinking when they agreed to make this film?
I realize it is their wont to make any film they wish, but surely the likes of Lane, Cusack and Mulroney are not wanting for good scripts.I don't mind predictable scripts - and romantic comedies, by their very nature, are awfully predictable - if they're good, offer some laughs, a few nice moments, a few scenes that ring true.
There's not a single genuine character or an honest moment in this entire film.Everything about this film screams "movie moment," from the family get-togethers to the plot twists, from the inter-family conversations to the dialogue between Lane and Cusack.
I love Diane Lane and John Cusak, so I was so disappointed in this movie!!!
Yes, Diane Lane looked great and John Cusak was as charming as ever, but I am so embarrassed for them and the other world-class actors (Christopher Plummer, Stockard Channing...) who appeared in this very predictable disaster..
If you're expecting a romantic comedy where the woman can't find love, then finally does meet the right guy, but some twist of fate causes a misunderstanding which throws things off course, and then everything is resolved after a ridiculous effort of trying to get back together (perhaps with a musical montage of scenes where said woman tries to get her life back on track), then you won't be disappointed.
The story is kind of cute, just kind of felt similar to Diane Lanes last film of Under the Tuscan Sun with playing a single frustrated character looking for love.
If you like a movie that is romantic, funny and has a happy ending you will enjoy "Must Love Dogs"..
Dianne and John had great chemistry and looked so great together and the story was very decent.Sarah is a divorced woman who's family is just pressuring her like crazy to go out and start dating again.
Anothe divorced man who is absolutely caught by Sarah's vulnerability, but she's not ready for him yet until she realizes maybe that he is what she should be looking for in life.Must Love Dogs is great because it has comedy, romance, and just some very fun moments.
I've always loved Diane Lane and John Cusack, but my favorite actors in the movie by far were those little preschoolers in Lane's class.
Just think "Sleepless in Seattle" or "You've Got Mail" without any suspense, intrigue or romance.Strangely, the movie begins at what seems like the middle of the first Act, and we're introduced to Sarah and her lovable, interfering siblings and odd father (is Christopher Plummer supposed to be Irish in this film?).
I'm very sad to report that Cuzak's acting is wooden, forced, and equally embarrassing to watch, which makes me think that it probably has as much to do with the director as it does with him.Finally, after an agonizing 25 minutes or so into the film, Jake and Sarah meet in a playground with dogs they've both borrowed.
Later Sarah finds that Jake is her perfect match.The beginning of "Must Love Dogs" is very funny and I particularly liked the sharp and ironic dialogs.
I really like Diane Lane and LOVE John Cusak but this movie reminded me of Under the Tuscan Sun which I also found to be a bit boring.
Diane Lane and John Cusak star in this modern-day twist on the romantic comedy.
Most of the movie feels forced, especially the scenes between Dolly (Stockard Channing) and Sarah (Diane Lane) and the infamous singing at dinner.
The acting was fabulous by everyone in the cast especially the cute Diane Lane and the quirky John Cusack.
I really liked the way the characters interacted and the chemistry was very palpable between Cusack and Diane Lane.
It had the same lame acting and awful writing.I must confess I think Diane Lane is gorgeous, although she's looking a little older now, and that's attracted me to her movies.
The end result is a fascinating web of characters and insights about finding love and keeping it, reflecting every person in today's society who struggles with the same problem as Sarah.John Cusack is delightful as always on screen, and Diane Lane shines once again.
MUST LOVE DOGS (2005) ** Diane Lane, John Cusack, Elizabeth Perkins, Christopher Plummer, Dermot Mulroney, Stockard Channing, Ali Hillis, Ben Shenkman, Julie Gonzalo, Jordana Spiro.
Inert and inept romantic comedy about a recently divorced Lane and Cusack (both deserving a much better rom-com offering; Hollywood pay attention!) both struggling to come to terms with their new dilemma: getting back on the saddle of the dating world.
With Lane's pushy older sister Perkins (ditto) and Cusack's perv buddy (Shenkman; I can't stand this guy period) placing and answering an online dating service ad the would-be couple face a thicket of sexual stereotypical clichés (women can only cope with heartbreak by soaking in a warm tub or eating ice cream in a cozy bathrobe while guys can only seek solace in strip clubs and viewing sappy romantic films on DVD  Paging "Dr. Zhivago" ; only the latter is false by the way!) A horrible screenplay by director Gary David Goldberg (the poor man's James L.
I went to see this movie because John Cusack is in it, it has the word "dogs" in the title, and it involves online dating, which I'm interested in because my daughter met her boyfriend that way.
But this can be done in a clever way, with an actual plot (e.g., "Only You", "You've Got Mail", "Sleepless in Seattle") or it can be boring, improbable, and stupid like this film.We know what Diane Lane's character does--she works in a preschool.
On the director's commentary for "Love Actually" they talk about the standing joke that Colin Firth's characters always have to end up getting wet since women loved the way he looked in "Pride and Prejudice." Diane Lane does not look good wet, and why didn't she just wait on the dock?
Don't let the title fool you...you must NOT love dogs to like this movie..
One point, however, Dermot Mulroney's character was almost superfluous to this movie, I know it shows the Dilemma Diane Lanes Character must go through.Christopher Plummer gives great rendition of the loving father and his need for companionship amongst other things and Stockard Channing, is at least alive (as distinct from the The Three Wives Club) and is a good mentor to Diane Lane.
I mean, I'm going to try to like a film with John Cusack, Diane Lane, Dermot Mulrooney, Elizabeth Perkins, and Christopher Plummer...
It sounds pretty but like Lane's character Sarah says in the film "I don't understand all of it." John also looked tired most of the time.
I usually like Cusack but just not in this film.One place the direction failed was in setting up the Sarah/Jake relationship.
It's sad because the cast were full of familiar faces who had films before, that I liked.Don't bother watching this if you want a good romance movie.
Must Love Dogs is a charming movie about a recent divorcée (that only Diane Lane can play) whose family is attempting to set her up on several dates.
It is also realistic as far as the type of people that Diane Lane's character goes on dates with.All in all, I would recommend this movie right up there with "Under the Tuscan Sun" or "You've Got Mail." The chemistry between Lane and Cusack is great, and "Mother Teresa" is absolutely adorable!.
Hollywood knows a good plot for a romantic comedy, that is why every couple of years there's a new movie very similar to Sleepless.
Diane Lane and John Cusack just didn't seem like a great couple to me.
This comedy follows the bumpy road to romance between a divorced boat builder (John Cusack) and a divorced schoolteacher (Diane Lane), who meet through submitting their romantic profiles on PerfectMatch.com.
Bright quirky comedy dealing with love and relationships with a wonderful cast.John Cusack and Diane Lane are both recent divorcees from others and find romance through the internet and love of dogs.Lane has a strong family to support her emotionally and keep finding possible suitors for her.Nice seeing veteran actor Christopher Plummer in a comedic role as Lane's widowed father who has a variety of dates so that he shall never forget the true love that he lost.
I wasn't surprised by stunning plot twists or unbelievably great acting (although Diane Lane and John Cusak did well with what they were given) but at how much I enjoyed the movie given the shabby reviews posted here.I wasn't awestruck but I did enjoy watching the movie and at times was drawn into the movie enough to feel as though some of the characters were speaking for me.
(I question the motives of anyone who says the only good thing about this movie is that they had an openly gay couple with a happy relationship) Don't watch "Must Love Dogs" if you are expecting the next great Romantic Comedy.
Soon, Sarah reveals the dog she's with is not hers either; and we feel the chemistry between the characters.The story is the one we know by heart, and the one anyone should expect when watching films like these; because if not, we wouldn't even watch them.
"Must Love Dogs" also has Diane Lane and a couple of elements more that make the picture simply irresistible.
John Cusack's character was terrific -- unsure, philosophical, yet committed to love in the real world and wooden boats (somehow they are indeed related).Diane Lane had the difficulty of being on camera almost the whole movie and of showing she didn't mind the encroaching, critical, no boundary love her family was at great pains to show her.
I love John Cusack in this movie~.
"Must Love Dogs" (2005), written and directed by Gary David Goldberg, is a formulaic film that works because of the acting skills of the two lead actors.
A very funny and charming movie in a 2005 James Garner (John Cusack) and Doris Day (Diane Lane)type romantic comedy.
while i certainly was not disappointed at all with the dogs, i was definitely disappointed in the story.Diane Lane is cute but annoyingly passive as Sarah, and John Cusack is typically quirky but definitely appealing as Jake.
How can you lose with a romantic comedy starring John Cusack and Diane Lane?
John Cusack, you have done so many good films in your time.
I gave this movie 3 stars: 1 for the Newfoundland dogs (I do love dogs) and 2 for John Cusack.
Diane Lane (lead character "Sarah") is wonderful, as always - a breath of fresh, and authentic, air in this quite predictable, but still lovely, romantic comedy.
One of "Sarah's" love interests, "Jake," is played by John Cusack, who seems a little less present in his role, but is adorable enough to overcome whatever is lacking in his performance; I hoped for a little more "Lloyd Dobler" laser focus romantically speaking, but did find hints of it in his yearning looks and obsession with the movie "Dr. Zhivago." Among the other story lines played out by an impressive supporting cast, Stockard Channing's is my favorite; the vulnerability she displays as she searches for love in middle age is quite touching.
I saw this movie with the assumption that it would be great because John Cusack usually does not fail to deliver awesome romantic comedies.
And apparently Diane Lane and John Cusack HAD a relationship that I wasn't aware of, I must have been looking down at my popcorn at that moment in the movie and missed it.
I loved the way it was put, and it was very funny.:] Diane Lane is such a talented actress and is such a pretty woman, that even though it was a movie, I would be surprised if she had trouble finding a boyfriend.
This in an agreeable film with decent chemistry between Diane Lane and John Cusack, a good supporting cast with real roles to play, and better writing than expected.The problems are twofold.
Well, in Must Love Dogs, Gary David Goldberg simply writes some witty lines about contemporary sexual politics and directs an able cast headed by John Cusack and Diane Lane as the aging sweetheart wannabees.
Diane Lane, John Cusack, Elizabeth Perkins, Christopher Plummer and Stockard Channing what an outstanding cast of performers who just click together in this movie "Must Love Dogs".
An enjoyable character to wrap up a delightful movie.I guarantee you will like this perfect date film.
Diane Lane was great in the lead role of Sarah and John Cusack was also very good in the quirky comedy role he does so well.
'Must Love Dogs' is very, very recommended if you want a good and entertaining time at the movies.
With a cast of John Cusack, Diane Lane, Dermot Mulroney, Elizabeth Perkins, Stockard Channing and Christopher Plummer and writing by Gary David Goldberg, I thought this would be very good.
I only watched it because I like John Cusack and Diane Lane,the whole cast actually.