Must Love Dogs

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Must Love Dogs
Directed by Gary David Goldberg
Produced by Polly Cohen
Brad Hall
Ronald G Smith
Written by Claire Cook
Gary David Goldberg
Starring Diane Lane
John Cusack
Dermot Mulroney
Elizabeth Perkins
Victor Webster
with
Stockard Channing
and
Christopher Plummer
Distributed by Warner Brothers
Release date(s) July 29, 2005
Running time 98 min.
Language English
Budget Unknown
IMDb profile

Must Love Dogs is a 2005 romantic comedy film directed by Gary David Goldberg and originally written by Claire Cook. This movie makes many references to the classic Doctor Zhivago, a movie that one of the characters loves and watches over and over again during the course of the story.

  • Tagline: The hardest trick is making them stay.

Contents

[edit] Plot

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During the opening, a few singles talk about where they meet people.

The actual film starts in Sarah Nolan's kitchen. She's around age 40, and divorced not long ago. Her sisters Carol and Christine, brother Michael and father are there as a "dating intervention." They have pictures of men they want to set Sarah up with. Sarah doesn't seem keen. Her siblings are married. Michael is having marital woes, and his wife doesn't like "Mother Teresa" (a Newfoundland dog), so she is staying with Sarah.

Sarah is a preschool teacher. She has a few colleagues who work under her. They include Leo, a kind gay man, and June, a young, perky blond. Leo is complaining about his boyfriend's parents coming to visit again. one of her pupils, Austin, says his parents are trying it apart. He accidentally gets hit in the nose so his father, Bob Connor, comes to check on him. Bob and Sarah flirt.

Meanwhile Jake Anderson (John Cusack) is meeting his lawyer at his house. The lawyer has just helped Jake get divorced, and he's now broke. He builds beautiful handcrafted boats at home, but never sells any. The lawyer tries to set him up with a girl named Sherry. Jake's not interested.

Later, Sarah's sister Carol (Elizabeth Perkins) comes over. She wants to talk about Sarah. They discuss Bob, but Sarah says she's not interested in getting involved because he's a parent. Carol confesses that she placed an ad for Sarah on PerfectMatch.com. The two look on a computer, and Sarah is embarrassed because Carol posted her high school graduation picture (in a cap and gown) on the website. Carol asks if her wedding picture would have been better. Carol's description of Sarah in her profile is quite outlandish. It says she is voluptuous, and that the guys she goes out with "must love dogs." After her sister leaves, Sarah peruses the site.

The sisters are all in Sarah's bedroom helping her to get dressed for her first internet date. Her date is a man in his 50s, that enjoys long walks on the beach, etc... He is supposed to be at a restaurant with a yellow rose. When Sarah meets her date, she discovers it's her father, who is actually 71.

Sarah goes grocery shopping and is at the deli counter. She wants a single order of roasted chicken, but the deli counter guy keeps on pushing specials to encourage her to buy an entire chicken. Exasperated, Sarah says she's single.

There's a montage of Sarah going on disastrous dates. Lenny can't stop crying. Another seems to be a criminal. And a third likes girls that are barely legal...

At an art gallery, Jake and the lawyer are talking. Jake sees Sherry, and she asks why he didn't give her a call. He seems none too interested. The lawyer thinks Jake is stupid. He pulls out a printout of Sarah's profile. Jake sees the high school photo, and is a bit wary. The lawyer tells Jake he has a date with her the next day at a dog park and that he'd better bring a dog.

Jake shows up with a borrowed Terrier. Sarah and Jake have an awkward meeting. Jake is very intense and starts trying to analyze what her profile meant. "Voluptuous" usually means fat; athletic means flat chested. Sarah is pretty offended. Jake's borrowed dog plays dead. He tells her the dog isn't really his, and she accuses him of being deceptive. He points out that the requirement was "Must love dogs" not "Must own a dog." They are uncomfortable that they met on the net. Sarah leaves abruptly but agrees to see him again.

Sarah's dad Bill (Christopher Plummer) and family are invited to his new internet girlfriend's home. She is Dolly (Stockard Channing), a nice but eccentric woman who lives in a trailer. Bob Connor is living at the same place, and ends up joining the group for dinner.

Jake and the lawyer are watching Dr. Zhivago, one of Jake's favorite movies. He likes how real the story seems. Jake admits that Sarah intrigued him.

Sarah and Jake finally go on a real dinner date. He asks her why she's not with her husband anymore. She explains that he just stopped loving her. He was also never ready to have children. Kevin left her for a woman 15 years younger, and they're now married and a baby is on the way.

The date progresses back to Sarah's house, and they attempt to have sex but discover neither has a condom. A crazy drive around town in pursuit of protection ends in success, but by then, neither of them is in the mood.

Jake and the lawyer are at his home talking about Sarah. Meanwhile, a man comes to look at a boat and immediately wants to buy it. He also says he is going to cut the boat up to hang it on his wall above his TV. Jake refuses to sell the boat.

It's Halloween, and there is a party at the preschool. Sarah is dressed as a leopard. All of the fathers are checking out young June, who is a cowgirl with a miniskirt. She says she is glad to see so many dads "interested in their kids' lives." Bob shows up and ends up alone with Sarah. They flirt, then she has to leave abruptly to attend to one of the children.

That night, Jake calls to talk to Sarah but Dolly has an emergency. Dolly has been talking to a teenage boy from San Francisco online. He mistook her age "61" for "16" and she never had the heart to tell him. Well, the boy has shown up on her doorstep to proclaim his love for her.

Sarah leaves and decides to see if Bob is home. He is, but he is with June. She runs away, but drops something.

When Sarah arrives home, she finds her brother Michael and Jake. Michael's wife kicked him out, and he's completely drunk. Jake's been taking care of him. Jake was worried when Sarah just dropped the phone. Jake tells Sarah he wants to take her rowing. He tries to show her how to row, and they end up kissing. Jake decides to take Michael home, and while he is gone, Sarah lights some candles and sets the mood for his return. The doorbell rings, and she is expecting Jake, but it's Bob. He says he's there to return what she dropped. Bob also tells Sarah that June was just dropping Austin off. He kisses her just as Jake returns. Bob leaves. Jake leaves, upset.

At the preschool, June tries to explain that there is nothing going on between her and Bob. She encourages Sarah.

It's Thanksgiving, and the family is all together. Once again, they are trying to set Sarah up with a bunch of men and hand her picture after picture. Dad Bill has invited Dolly over, and two other younger women. Dolly tells Sarah she's falling for Bill, and she doesn't want him to date other people. Later, Sarah and her father discuss their personal lives. He tells her he is having fun, but nothing can compare to the love of his life, Sarah's mother. Sarah also tells her dad that Dolly is falling in love with him, and that he needs to be a gentleman.

The next scene is with Sarah and Bob riding in a convertible. Bob says he's surprised she called him. They go to a swanky hotel and have sex. In the morning, Bob treats her poorly and says they can't stay long because he has a game later on. On the drive home, Bob admits that he slept with June. He also says he lied about it so nothing would get in the way of them getting together. Sarah says she's mad at herself for buying his "dad of the year, sensitive guy" act.

Jake and the lawyer are once again watching Dr. Zhivago. Jake is depressed and now agrees to sell his boat. He also decides to go out with Sherry.

Leo and his boyfriend Eric come over to help cheer Sarah up. They all go to a salon to get manicures and pedicures using their teacher gift certificates. Sarah sees Jake leaving the movie theater. She runs out to talk to him. They strike up a conversation, and then Sherry shows up. Sherry thought Zhivago was boring. But Sarah really likes it. She leaves, feeling dejected. Sherry asks Jake up to her apartment, but he walks home.

Jake is outside a coffee shop with his boat. He accidentally meets Sarah's dad Bill, who admires the boat. Jake confesses that he's heartbroken. Bill says, "I have a daughter." Jake quickly shakes his head "no" and they part ways.

Bill was actually on his way to Sarah's house with coffee for them to share. Bill quotes something that Jake had told him. Sarah asks him where he got that saying, and her father tells her about meeting Jake. Sarah realizes that the girl he's talking about is her.

She is now at Jake's house with Mother Theresa and runs into the lawyer. The lawyer tells her he is out on the lake with the boat for one last time.

Sarah runs to the lake and repeatedly yells out Jake's name, but he cannot hear her. He is getting farther and farther away, and she is not quite sure what to do. Comically, she convinces a girls' crew team to give her and Mother Theresa a lift. As she nears Jake, he still cannot see or hear her. She takes off her jacket and plunges into the water, followed by Mother Theresa. Sarah swims over to the boat and climbs in with Jake. Mother Theresa, soaking wet, also hops in. Jake puts his own jacket around Sarah, as she is freezing.

Without reservation, Sarah tells Jake how she feels about him. They kiss.

The movie ends with couples talking. Carol's husband cannot remember how they met, and she storms off. The restaurant owners say their business is a great place to meet people and give the address out like it's a mini commercial. Sherry and her boyfriend (Casey Donovan, the unseen guy Sarah's aunt wanted her to date) announce that they're engaged. Then Jake and Sarah say in unison that they met at a dog park.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • The song "I Never" by Rilo Kiley is used in this movie.
  • The song used when Austin got hit is a Filipino folk dance called Tinikling.

[edit] External links