Big Mac Daddy:

This was a highly predictable chick flick that's worse than you would expect. I was cringing at the bad dialog. My wife is going to let me watch Blazing Saddles five times to make up for this.

leela42:

I watched this one while I was sick and it was the perfect time and place! Not that this movie is sickening, it just makes no demands on the critical faculties (it's better that way) and is a nice, pleasant drive on cruise control through romantic comedy-land. Predictable plot, not-so-great dialog (considering the wit factor of Cusack, who is a personal fave), but still a light and agreeable way to pass a couple of hours. Especially if you're sick! Definite "chick-flick" fare, but I enjoyed it. So 3 stars for me, not the limbo-type but a genuine I-liked-it-but-not great rating. Oh: While a dog is present much of the time she is not that much a part of the essential story line, which was not a problem for me in the film but did seem a ploy to tag on an intriguing title, which was a bit problematic for me.

Walt D in LV:

Moderately cute romantic comedy. NOT one of Cusack's best. I liked it much better when he wrote and directed his own films. I'd skip this one in favor of much better romantic comedy, such as Serendipity, Return to Me, About Last Night, Big Fat Greek Wedding, Sabrina (either old or new), and others. Diane Lane is also not as sexy here. 12-23-05. Walt D in LV.

ykf 483620:

Must Love Dogs is a film that starts out fairly sweet and ends up derivative and annoying. It's a story about two thirty-something divorcees exploring the world of dating for another first time. Lane is cute and fun and Cusack is quirky but low energy. (I think Cusack coasted his whole performance.) But the film quickly moves forward with a cute plot about two people just missing love. And there are some fun scenes with Lane's large family who are always charmingly- meddlesome in Lane's life. But then somewhere near the end of the second act the movie just becomes a convuluted mess with a b-story about the father dating which never really gets tied up and another story about Lane going on a dating spree... Meanwhile, the love story is on the backburner for a long while. Then the ending is just contrite and ridiculous. The performances got on my nerves eventually, especially Cusack who I normally love and the film is shot/edited very poorly. No establishing shots, scenes trip over themselves getting started, simple things like wide shots are missing... But anyway, I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone and as an ending note, I'm not sure really what the title is even supposed to mean since neither character owns dogs.

Jeremy Thomas:

Great acting is what saves this movie. John Cusack and Diane Lane have some fantastic chemistry between them and they lift the tired plot, about two divorcées who find each other through the efforts of their friends, to something potentially enjoyable. The pratfalls Cusack and especially Lane encounter along the way are purely carbon copy from other and better films but a strong supporting cast that includes Christopher Plummer, Stockard Channing, Dylan McDermott and Elizabeth Perkins allow the two veteran leads to carry through. That the outcome is never in doubt hurts things and the plot twists are telegraphed far too loudly. Television writer Gary David Goldberg (Family Ties, Spin City) seems to think he's directing a pilot and not a film, but he finds a great sense of family out of the characters and that and the performances are enough to save the movie from being another romantic comedy dud.

itp 1591997:

Appropriate title, as you must like dogs to appreciate this BARKER. Lane and Cusak were charismatic on screen, with other people. Together they didn't gel to well. Still the side stories kept the movie rolling, especially with Lane's Father, and if you ignore the off pitch howls in places, it's a good doggey of a picture overall.

BeeGee:

For a storyline that has been told and retold over the years the only way to attempt to write, direct, or produce such a movie would be if there was a new perspective or twist to the boy meets girl storyline. Turns out, Must Love Dogs made no effort to make this story different from what has been told and seen over the years. There was no imagination to the story. It was all too predictable as were the characters. Lane and Cusack?s characters were stock personalities. The monotony of the hopeless romantics they portrayed has been played out. The cynical jokes Cusack and Lane gave were expected and dull. Half way through I decided that I would be better off turning it off and mailing it back

Scott & Gise:

Every once in awhile, a movie comes along that is so bad, so awful, so vomit inducing, you feel yourself grow envious of those that are both blind and deaf so they don't have to endure this type of misery. A better title would have been "Diane and John Get Paid." I can't see any other reason why two likeable actors such as them would be attracted to a script that would have been better served substituting for toilet paper. At first I thought, "How charming, it isn't often that people with special needs get to be portrayed on film.¿ Then I slowly realized the people weren't "special", they were just idiots. I wanted to jump through the T.V. and slap them all. Be warned, there is a big romantic comedy spontaneous sing along that occurs. It goes on for awhile, so leave the movie running while you take off to the bathroom. Just awful. Just try to both watch this flick and resist the urge to dropkick your T.V.

JT in CA:

Predictable and oh-so-boring. Intensely bad dialog. John Cusack has apologized, in public, for this film. There's not much of a plot, this turkey is mostly "character driven", where the characters drive like 80 year old blind women plowing down the wrong side of the street (i.e. my neighborhood). I really can't unrecommend this movie highly enough. Makes an especially bad date movie. On the plus side, I *am* thankful that Meg Ryan didn't end up taking Diane Lane's role (she wanted it). Luckily Cusack forbade it, calling Meg a human toilet. Whew! Crisis averted, kind of.

QuietlyGoingMad:

Though there were a couple of amusing bits in this movie, the only thing I could really get out of it was how badly it perpetuated the stereotyping of single women over 35...her family battering her to "find a man" and then her own pathetic behavior (i.e. actually deciding to go out with and sleep with a man who has been dubbed "incorrigable" and is caught with her much younger coworker and then having the audacity to go off on tirade because SHE made a stupid choice). This is the trifecta of disappointment that is John Cusack these days...too bad he can't go back to his Grosse Point Blank & Hi Fidelity ways to continue being an actor I truly adore.

PD 415239:

This movie was nearly all fluff. If you've seen the preview, you've seen all the good parts. You know exactly where it's going and how it's going to get there.

SB 1402794:

I've seen worse romantic comedies (much worse), but this one seems as though everyone involved was just going through the motions. The characters don't act like real people; they act like actors who know they are in a romantic comedy and they need make some drama so the inevitable ending doesn't take 10 minutes to get to. The writing, at times, is atrocious and the acting is tepid, at best.

The Miz:

This is, without question, one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Zero plot development, terrible character development, and chucking dogs in for an obvious "aww" factor...it's like a trainwreck on top of a carwreck on top of a triple homicide of bad circumstances, obvious cliches, and poor writing. Anyone who felt good or empowered after seeing this movie needs to see a doctor immediately or be locked up for the safety of society. If there is a sense of cosmic retribution, Gary Goldberg sobs quietly at night knowing he unleashed this tripe on an innocent movie audience.

thb 1860198:

I would have to say that this movie is o.k. at best. It falls into the familiar patterns of all of John Cusack's later films. Overall it will leave you with a," I can't believe how far he's fallen," type feeling. The movie quality itself however isn't terrible just typical.