Must Love Dogs

Must Love Dogs is pathetic at times, predictable and unashamedly soppy. But I’m ashamed to say that it’s highly enjoyable also.

Much of this is due to the fantastic cast. We all know John Cusack has been involved in far more edgy projects (Max, Grosse Point Blank and High Fidelity), however he’s as funny and charming as ever in the role of Jake. Diane Lane is a perfect match, and somehow manages to look a hell of a lot younger than she actually is. Together they light up the screen, to the extent that the film drags whenever they’re not on together. The supporting cast is exceptional also, with the only dud appearing in the form of Dermot Mulroney (The Wedding Date), who seems to be doing his best to impersonate Sylvester Stallone. Elisabeth Perkins (All I Want (Try Seventeen)) and Stockard Channing (Le Divorce) both deliver excellent performances and veteran Christopher Plummer (Alexander) is of course brilliant. The entire cast give their all in what is essentially a derivative piece of fluff, and together have fashioned quite a guilty pleasure.

There are times when the humour falls flat on its face, but also several classic moments that will remain with me for a long time. Sure, a lot of it doesn’t make sense, but nobody said this was realism. One thing that annoyed me for most of the running time was the awful soundtrack. It was filled with some of the most pathetic and/or obvious songs, and the moments when the music was in the forefront grated terribly. That being said, this isn’t a subtle movie on any level, and it spent a lot of time beating us across the face with the narrative and characters’ motivations.

I must point out that the audience LOVED this film. I’ve never heard people emote quite so forcefully or loudly – there were guffaws aplenty. The worst part was that all the noise, whilst annoying, was evidence that everyone was truly paying attention, so Mark couldn’t even get his shush-thang on.

Intelligent or insightful? No. Entertaining? Absolutely.