Must Love Dogs Review

Diane Lane plays Sarah Nolan - a recently divorced, preschool teacher. Her family is determined to get Sarah back into a relationship, so sister Carol - Elizabeth Perkins – posts a fake listing for her on a dating website, including the condition "must love dogs" – even though Sarah doesn't actually own one. Meanwhile Jake - John Cusack - another recent divorcee, is pushed into responding to Sarah’s listing by his friend Charlie, Ben Shenkman. All Jake really wants to do is watch Doctor Zhivago and build wooden rowing boats that nobody wants to buy. Enter recently separated dad Bob Conner, Dermot Mulroney who becomes the obstacle in the path to true love.Must Love Dogs should have been a biting and witty look at contemporary dating but unfortunately for me it just became another predictable and bland rom-com. Even a remarkable cast – the usually reliable John Cusack, Christopher Plummer as Sarah’s Dad, Stockard Channing his internet date, and the charm and grace of Diane Lane, couldn’t keep this film out of the dog house.