Must Love Dogs
December 21, 2005
- Dan Ramer,
DVDFile.com
In Must Love Dogs, Sarah (Diane Lane) and (John
Cusack) hate to date. They’re both recently divorced, they each
have family members and friends who want to set them up with the
perfect person, but neither of them is very interested, perhaps a bit
wary. That keeps up, of course, until they meet each other and make
that beautiful romantic comedy connection – except Sarah ends up
screwing the pooch. In this case, the pooch is Bob, played by Dermot
Mulroney. It’s a case of her libido trumping the touchy-feelies
she has for Jake. So the thrust of Must Love Dogs becomes a
tug-of-war between Sarah’s fiery loins for Bob (a man who will
love her long but throw her to the curb in the morning) or
save herself for the man who just might truly love her.
Unfortunately, even for those us of us susceptible to the teary
charms of romantic fare like Must Love Dogs, this mishmash of
a romance never has even a semblance of cohesion. Gary David
Goldberg’s screenplay maintains a nice referential banter
similar to that of The Sweetest Thing (at one point,
Sarah’s sister says, “Oh, let’s go watch
Beaches!”), but there’s little to no authenticity
to the story.
Even John Cusack, the crown prince of
romantic comedy, has trouble allowing his character to be anything
more than a shut-in drunken fool who watches Doctor Zhivago
over and over and over. Seriously, the viewer must watch him go
through the film at least four times during the course of the film.
What Goldberg thinks is a nice pop culture identifier for his leading
man ends up being a terrifically banal character crutch. Sure, he
loves Doctor Zhivago, but why?
Yet
it’s difficult to have any qualms about Lane. Yes, her scenery
chewing does not fall in the pantheon of her most believable and
endearing work, but where Cusack goes through the motions of romantic
comedy like a well-worn pro, Diane Lane offers a sensibility that
she’s jumping through the hoops for the first time. Under
the Tuscan Sun is her hallmark at this point; no other romantic
comedy of the last ten years has had the gleefully insecure naivete
she showed in that picture. There are moments in Much Love
Dogs where it seems as though she might break free of Gary David
Goldberg’s trite screenplay and make it her own.
Unfortunately, the opportunity never arises and Must Love
Dogs ends up mired in its own mediocrity. It doesn’t even
make for a consistently enjoyable waste of time on DVD. And for a
romantic comedy, that’s the kiss of death.
The Video: How Does The Disc Look?
Must Love
Dogs’ 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, however, looks
fantastic. Shot with attention to colorful detail and wonderful depth
of field, the visual palette of the film is top-notch, and it’s
preserved with exceptional detail and finesse. Colors are especially
punchy, with sharp boundaries and saturation. Black levels are silky
and deep. Finely grained detail is also presented fantastically.
Everything seems to be in fine shape. A lovely transfer.
The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?
The
Dolby Digital 5.1 mix won’t blow you away, but it definitely
scores higher than most other romantic comedy mixes of the last few
years. The soundscape is predictably front-heavy – it’s a
very dialogue-driven picture – but atmospherics and effects are
lent a tone of impressive fidelity and separation. The film’s
music soundtrack also sounds pretty damned good; although the
cheesiness of the music cues leave a bit to be desired, their
placement in the sound mix is right on.
Also included are
a French Dolby Digital 5.1 track, English, French and Spanish
subtitles, and English Closed Captions.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
There’s not too much here. We get some
deleted scenes (with optional commentary
from director Goldberg) as well as a pitifully short
gag reel (it runs about a minute) and some
trailers for both Must Love Dogs and other
Warner products.
Final Thoughts
Must Love Dogs is, alas, a dog, and it’s doubtful
that its reputation will improve on DVD. John Cusack and Diane Lane
provide a pedigree (what a great dog pun – I just came up with
that!) that is insurmountable in the romantic comedy world, but Gary
David Goldberg’s script never lets them run free with their
talents. The video is exceptional, the audio is very well designed,
and the supplements are a little thin. For the romantic comedy suckers
out there, I recommend a rental and not much more.
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