Must Love Dogs Movie

MUST LOVE DOGS MOVIE REVIEW/ ONLINE DATING LINKS

2005-07-29T11:38:00.000-07:00

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

By Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
July 29, 2005

On what planet does Diane Lane, she of the double-dip-sundae bod, whipped-cream face, and cinnamon hair, go dateless? Only on planet Hollywood, where she is routinely cast as an underappreciated wife or overlooked single.

Must Love Dogs stars the appealing Lane and simpatico John Cusack as neurotic singletons, both recently divorced, whose family (hers) and friends (his) push them back into the dating game. But the rules have changed.

Last time they were on the market Sarah (Lane) and Jake (Cusack) were picked up pronto. Now a little shelf-worn, they are advised to market themselves with online dating services. Even Sarah's dad (Christopher Plummer), a widower, uses the Internet - with considerably more success than his daughter.

Individually, the actors are endearing. But together in this charmless Gary David Goldberg sitcomedy, inspired by the Claire Cook novel, they are as oddly paired as chalk and cheese. In doggie terms, Cusack is an overeager, Cujo-scaled Newfoundland courting Lane, a balky, pocket-size Pekingese. (We can be happy there are no jokes about making heels heel or roll over.)

The one successful match made by this film is that between the studio's marketing department and www.perfectmatch.com. The Internet-dating site is given such prominent (and repeated) product placement that you might mistake the film for an infomercial.

Similarly, You've Got Mail could be deemed merely a promotional vehicle for AOL's e-mail service. Yet unlike Dogs, that film was something more than a collection of one-liners in search of a plot. That's the downside of the mercifully short Must Love Dogs.

The upside is a parade of supporting pirouettes that give the oomphless film some punch. There is Plummer, who auditions his Internet blind dates three at a time. There is Elizabeth Perkins as the take-charge older sister who posts Sarah's dating specs on the Web. There is Stockard Channing, dripping in turquoise and ringlets, as one in Plummer's harem. And there is Jordana Spiro, as a bubbly nymphomaniac who brings to mind Goldie Hawn, circa 1967.

It is not a good sign when a moviegoer is happier to see the supporting player than the lead.

Goldberg, creator of Family Ties and Spin City, uses the supporting players for the laughs and leaves his leads with little to do. It's a missed opportunity: This would-be comedy about the challenge of reducing a complex person into a high-concept blurb (i.e., Voluptuous preschool teacher seeks playmate) gives us the basics, but not the personalities or the fun.

DIANE LANE AND KYRA SEDGWICK LOVE "MUST LOVE DOGS"

2005-07-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

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

Kyra Sedgwick will play Diane Lane's sister in the romantic movie "Must Love Dogs" for Warner Bros. Pictures.

Lane will star as a divorcee who gives up on men only to have her well-meaning family enroll her in online dating programs. Gary David Goldberg ("Spin City") wrote the script and will be directing the film. Goldberg, Jennifer Todd, and Suzanne Todd are producing the movie.

Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon recently teamed up for "The Woodsman," a disturbing drama that's been getting great reviews on the festival circuit. Diane Lane's next movie, "Fierce People" co-starring Donald Sutherland, was recently pushed back from a release date in late 2004 until early 2005.

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter

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MUST LOVE DOGS MOVIE IS BASED ON THE BOOK BY CLAIRE COOK - SOME REVIEWS ON THE BOOK

2005-07-16T07:32:00.000-07:00

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

"In Must Love Dogs, Claire Cook provides the reader with a captivating, gentle heroine, her idiosyncratic family, and love interests ranging from the mundane to the profane. All that with great humor and the innocent insistence of puppies. This story is so delicious, so funny, so warm, that one engages on the first page and still wants more on the last. A truly joyful read."
-Jeanne Ray
Eat Cake, Step-Ball-Change,Julie and Romeo

"Sarah Hurlihy is an endearing heroine who manages to deal with her wacky family, her preschoolers, and her search for the perfect man and the perfect pooch with warmth, wit and wisdom. I found myself rooting for her from page one. Must Love Dogs is a must read for the summer."
- Caroline Preston
Lucy Crocker 2.0, Jackie by Josie

"Claire Cook's characters aren't rich or glamorous -- they're physically imperfect, emotionally insecure, and deeply familiar. Must Love Dogs is a sweet, funny novel about first dates and second chances."
- Tom Perrotta
Joe College, Election

"Reading Claire Cook's Must Love Dogs is like sitting down with a close friend -- a really entertaining close friend. Its heroine will strike a familiar chord in any woman who's been through a divorce, dusted herself off, and ventured back into the dating jungle. Funny and quirky and honest."
- Jane Heller
The Secret Ingredient, Name Dropping

"Reading Must Love Dogs is like having lunch with your best friend -- fun, breezy and full of laughs."
- Lorna Landvik
Patty Jane's House of Curl, The Tall Pine Polka

"Can another novel about a 40-year-old divorcee creating a new life for herself actually be of interest? Surprisingly, yes . . . this novel is a hoot."
- The Boston Globe

". . . if "Must Love Dogs" is any indication of her talents, readers will hope that Claire Cook will be telling breezy summer stories from the South Shore of Massachusetts for seasons to come."
- The Washington Post

" 'Eternally hopeful book reviewer seeks wildly witty novel on singles scene/personal ads. Stylish prose and sense of humor preferred. Looking for fun, not longterm entanglement. Must love readers.' Respondents to such an ad might include Claire Cook, whose new novel, Must Love Dogs, tells the story of a down-to-earth divorcee seeking companionship through the personals. . ."
- USA Today

"Claire Cook's "Must Love Dogs," a book that's got more giggles than soda bread has raisins."
-Hartford Courant

"This utterly charming second novel by Cook (Ready to Fall) is a fun read, perfect for whiling away an afternoon on the beach."
- Library Journal

"In an age when whiny novels about 30-something "singletons" whose sole goal in life seems to be snagging a decent man, Must Love Dogs is a refreshing antidote. . . .Reading about Sarah Hurlihy's travails is like talking to a comedic, self-deprecating friend. Cook's humor breezes through the pages as she details the perils -- and perks -- of plunging back into the dating scene."
- Book Page

"Cook employs just enough glibness and smarty-pants humor to make this tart slice-of-the-single-life worth reading."
- Publishers Weekly

BookSense 76 Top Ten Summer Paperback Quote:

"This book has one of the funniest first chapters I've ever read, and the hilarity mounts from there. A recently divorced preschool teacher is reentering the dating scene at the behest of her large, Irish-Catholic family, who try to set her up with someone . . . anyone. Zany, colorful characters and a plot with a Murphy's Law kind of inevitability make this a great, fun read."
Jill Miner, Saturn Booksellers, Gaylord, MI

BookSense 76 Hardcover Quote:

"This book is laugh-out-loud funny! A divorced preschool teacher is completely endearing as she tries to understand the dating scene, a place she's not been for many a year. Mix in an eccentric Boston-Irish family, a few dogs, and some questionable men, and you are swept up in a madcap romp."
- Donna Cressman, Maxwell Books, DeSoto, TX

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MUST LOVE DOGS MOVIE PREVIEW II

2005-07-15T11:29:00.000-07:00

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

In Must Love Dogs, A woman finds herself drafted into the battle of finding the perfect man in this romantic comedy. Sarah Nolan (Diane Lane) is a kindergarten teacher in her mid-thirties who is still dealing with the emotional aftermath of her divorce eight months ago. While her sisters, Christine (Ali Hillis) and Carol (Elizabeth Perkins), both think Sarah needs to start dating again, Sarah herself isn't so sure. Carol decides to force the issue by posting Sarah's photo and profile on an Internet dating site, and soon a number of seemingly eligible bachelors are sending her e-mails in hopes of a date. However, nearly every man she meets turns out to be a loser, with the exception of Jake (John Cusack), who is smart, good looking, and even brings along a dog for their walk in the park (though he doesn't tell her the pooch was borrowed for the occasion). However, Sarah also makes the acquaintance of Bob (Dermot Mulroney), the divorced father of one of her students, and she finds herself having to choose between two potentially worthwhile men. Meanwhile, Sarah's widowed father, Bill (Christopher Plummer), decides to give Internet dating a try, and lands himself a new steady in Dolly (Stockard Channing). Must Love Dogs is based on the best-selling novel of the same title by Claire Cook.

Daily posts to follow with information, an upcoming gossip forum, chat, messages, and online dating links regarding the movie Must Love Dogs, starring Diane Lane and John Cusack in their perfect match, co-starring Elizabeth Perkins, Christopher Plummer, Dermot Mulroney and Stockard Channing, and including previews, reviews, plot summary, comments, discussion, taglines, trailers, posters, photos, showtimes, links and more.

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MUST LOVE DOGS MOVIE PREVIEW AND REVIEW

2005-07-14T11:52:00.000-07:00

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.

You may want to consider these dating sites.