do you want to know the truth about cats and dogs ?
do you ?
well , as this movie shows us , they make good companions but pale in comparison to the joy and fulfillment romantic relationships can bring .
unfortunately , there 's a giant roadblock set up in our culture that only certain people can get through while the rest of us mill around outside , feeling sorry for ourselves .
a checkpoint beautiful kind of thing , and janeane garafolo 's character abby relates to it well .
like a certain oversized teenage movie critic , she is intelligent and has a great sense of humor but strikes out with the opposite sex because she sees herself as physically unattractive , and the men seem to be backing her up on that .
meanwhile , her gorgeous neighbor nora ( uma thurman . . .
uma being the only woman 's name worse than nora ) attracts men like flies .
as abby tells her , " you burp and they think it 's cute .
you barf and they line up to hold your hair back .
"
but nora 's down on herself for being too shallow and superficial .
we all have our prwhen a man calls in to veterinarian abby 's talk radio show wanting to know how to get the roller skates off his basset hound .
( oh come on , any idiot knows how to handle that problem ! )
he likes her personality and professional demeanor and asks to meet her in person .
abby , though , knows her body does n't match her personality and that she probably wo n't have a chance with him once he sees her .
so she gives him nora 's body description and stands him up .
nora happens to be in the studio the next day when the dog man comes by and abby asks her for a big favor .
she goes along with the masquerade and the three of them head out for a night of fun , abby assuming the role of a goat cheese farmer named donna .
the dog man finds out even though this girl is beautiful , she 's not quite as intellectual or confident about herself in person , but he does n't suspect anything , realizing he 's not living in a " three 's company " episode .
the charade continues , with abby furthering the relationship over the phone ( including a decidedly unnecessary phone sex / masturbation sequence ) and nora furthering it in person , while eventually finding herself attracted to the dog man .
like sleepless in seattle , this comedy / romance is predictable all the way through , but we care enough about the characters that we root them on and will the romance to blossom .
the truth about cats and dogs is n't quite as entertaining as i was expecting it to be , but it handles well a theme
i could identify with .
the thing is , i find janeane garafolo rather attractive .
she 's no uma
but i 'm sure in real life
she 'd have no problems attracting men .
i , on the other hand , could n't attract a man to save my life . . . and am rather proud of that fact .
it handles well a theme we care enough about the characters that we root them on and will the romance to blossom