MUST LOVE DOGS MOVIE PREVIEW AND REVIEW

Consider these dating sites as you read about Must Love Dogs.

Dating is never easy. Early in the search for love, people find the golden formula for meeting a soul mate is one part humiliation, two parts aggravation, and a little blind luck thrown in for the fortunate.

Today's dating game is a blur of websites, speed lunches and hordes of friends and relatives who know just the wrong person for you.

Thirty-something pre-school teacher Sarah Nolan (DIANE LANE) has been divorced for eight months, which is much too long for her co-workers and family to bear. With the best of intentions and only her happiness in mind, Sarah's sisters, Carol (ELIZABETH PERKINS) and Christine (ALI HILLIS), begin lining up less-than-savory potential suitors. Meanwhile, their widowed father, Bill (CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER), is way ahead of the curve, having already cornered the market on internet dates, including his new web squeeze, the free-spirited Dolly (STOCKARD CHANNING).

Eager to launch her sister's cyber-dating debut, Carol pretends to be Sarah, goes online and puts her profile on perfectmatch.com, with the last line being "Must love dogs."

Sarah soon endures a torrent of eager wannabes and one very possible maybe, the handsome and accomplished but surprisingly awkward web date Jake (JOHN CUSACK) as well as Bob (DERMOT MULRONEY), the newly-divorced dad of one of her students, a hot prospect who may prove too good to be true.

As she braves a series of hilariously disastrous mismatches and first dates, Sarah begins to trust her own instincts again and learns that, no matter what, it's never a good idea to give up on love.
Based on the best-selling book by Claire Cook, Must Love Dogs is written, directed and produced by three-time Emmy Award winner Gary David Goldberg. Also producing is the team of Jennifer Todd and Suzanne Todd, with Brad Hall and Ronald G. Smith serving as executive producers. John Bailey, A.S.C., is the director of photography; Eric Sears, A.C.E. and Roger Bondelli, A.C.E. are the editors; and Naomi Shohan is the production designer. Florence-Isabelle Megginson and Gamila Smith are the costume designers.

Production Notes:
"We wanted to explore one woman's search for love in an increasingly frantic world," explains Gary David Goldberg, who created the beloved television comedy series Family Ties among other film and television productions. "It is such a treat to work with a cast that brings to life a story I find extremely rich and funny."

Must Love Dogs , written for the screen by Goldberg from Claire Cook's novel, attracted Diane Lane for many reasons, not the least of which was the opportunity to work with its writer/director. "I found it to be even more of a romantic comedy than Under the Tuscan Sun ," she says. "Because Gary wrote and is directing the film, he has a clear vision of how he wants to tell his story. At the same time, he is a very warm and generous person."

Lane, who earned an Oscar nomination for her role in the 2002 romantic thriller Unfaithful , counts among her credits numerous demanding and complex roles in such films as The Perfect Storm , A Walk on the Moon and The Cotton Club . Equally adept at comedy, most notably in the charming 2003 feature Under the Tuscan Sun , she welcomes the chance to return to the genre.

"Diane's flair for comedy meshes beautifully with an hilarious script by Gary David Goldberg that explores a modern woman's quest for romance and a soul mate in a world where both are in short supply," says producer Jennifer Todd, who, with her sister and partner Suzanne Todd, produced the hugely successful Austin Powers comedies as well as Memento and Boiler Room .
Starring as one of Sarah's wayward suitors is acclaimed actor John Cusack, whose career encompasses both drama and comedy, including roles in The Grifters , High Fidelity (for which he earned a BAFTA nomination), The Thin Red Line and Being John Malkovich . "I was happy to be asked to do the film," says Cusack. "I've always wanted to work with Diane Lane, and Gary is a genuinely wonderful person - very funny and open and comfortable."

The producers have assembled a celebrated supporting cast including Christopher Plummer ( National Treasure, The Insider ), Dermot Mulroney ( About Schmidt ), Elizabeth Perkins ( Cats & Dogs ) and Stockard Channing (Emmy Award-winner for her role on the television series The West Wing ) to bring author Claire Cook's fictional collection of hilarious misadventures and misfires in the modern dating world to life. Must Love Dogs completed location shooting in December 2004 in Los Angeles and surrounding communities such as Long Beach, Pasadena, San Pedro and Malibu Lake. It is scheduled for worldwide release by Warner Bros. Pictures in July 2005.

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