Critic Reviews

Must Love Dogs (2005) Rank 2 Reviews

Expert Review Summary
Movie critics combined give Must Love Dogs (2005) a score of 2.4792 out of 4
based on (243) reviews
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Reviews by Score:
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.40 out of 4 stars for Netflix (James Rocchi)Netflix (James Rocchi)
Even with a too-cute script, divorcee romantic comedy is passable thanks to the peanut butter/chocolate pairing of Diane Lane and John Cusack. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Netflix (James Rocchi)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.40 out of 4 stars for ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)
Diane Lane makes an extremely appealing lead and there's good chemistry between her and Cusack, perhaps because of their shared history at the edges of the Brat Pack in the 1980s. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at ViewLondon (Matthew Turner)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.40 out of 4 stars for Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (Ken Hanke)Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (Ken Hanke)
Harmless and enjoyable -- but it'll float right out of your brain within a couple hours of seeing it. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (Ken Hanke)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.40 out of 4 stars for filmcritic.com (Sean O'Connell)filmcritic.com (Sean O'Connell)
Even vehicles on autopilot eventually reach their destinations, and Dogs proves to be an easy ride ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at filmcritic.com (Sean O'Connell)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.40 out of 4 stars for Orlando Weekly (Steve Schneider)Orlando Weekly (Steve Schneider)
It works. That's the most and the least that can be said of this frequently funny romcom. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Orlando Weekly (Steve Schneider)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.40 out of 4 stars for Chicago Reader (Andrea Gronvall)Chicago Reader (Andrea Gronvall)
The script by sitcom veteran Gary David Goldberg has weaknesses--it soft-pedals bitterness, and the ending is annoyingly pat. On balance, though, this is a funny and smartly paced love story. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Chicago Reader (Andrea Gronvall)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.40 out of 4 stars for Dallas Observer (Luke Y. Thompson)Dallas Observer (Luke Y. Thompson)
The movie does find fresh ways to tweak the formula, making it more than the sum of its broad strokes. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Dallas Observer (Luke Y. Thompson)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.32 out of 4 stars for Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle Post-Intelligencer
It offers a handful of funny and touching moments and maintains a level of cuteness. But it's far from original, and its star chemistry doesn't exactly light up the screen. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.25 out of 4 stars for Film Blather (Eugene Novikov)Film Blather (Eugene Novikov)
I would have thought that by now, screenwriters and producers would have begun to think twice about making movies with the word "dog" in the title, considering how often this leads clever critics to call the film itself a dog and joke that the title is ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Film Blather (Eugene Novikov)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.20 out of 4 stars for eCinemaCenter.com (Gabe Leibowitz)eCinemaCenter.com (Gabe Leibowitz)
An inconsequential, harmless piece of moderately cute fluff ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at eCinemaCenter.com (Gabe Leibowitz)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Reno Gazette-Journal (Forrest Hartman)Reno Gazette-Journal (Forrest Hartman)
The best way to combat a lackluster script is good casting, and Diane Lane, John Cusack and Christopher Plummer are quite the foot soldiers in Must Love Dogs . ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Reno Gazette-Journal (Forrest Hartman)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Zap2it.com (Dan Fienberg)Zap2it.com (Dan Fienberg)
There's no compelling reason why these two characters ought to be compatible except that their names come first and second in the opening credits. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Zap2it.com (Dan Fienberg)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt (St. Paul))St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt (St. Paul))
Romantic comedies usually stand or fall on the likability of the leads, and the leads in Must Love Dogs , Lane and John Cusack, both of whom downplay the shtickiness of the material by underselling it, are very likable. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt (St. Paul))
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Phoebe Flowers)South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Phoebe Flowers)
What Must Love Dogs is ultimately insisting, after all, is that we all deserve to frolic merrily in the sun with loved ones (possibly in the form of John Cusack), Frisbees and dogs. Who wants to argue with that? ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Phoebe Flowers)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Toronto Star (Peter Howell)Toronto Star (Peter Howell)
The real reason for taking a chance on this minor summer confection would be to catch up on the life of an unbilled hero: Lloyd Dobler. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Toronto Star (Peter Howell)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Christianity Today (Camerin Courtney)Christianity Today (Camerin Courtney)
I wouldn't call the movie a dog, but I didn't love it either. Our search for the next Great Romantic Comedy, like so many Hollywood singletons' quest for love, continues. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Christianity Today (Camerin Courtney)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)
Cutesy stuff, breezily amusing but...a basically weightless and disposable date movie. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Globe and Mail (David Gilmour)Globe and Mail (David Gilmour)
Be warned. When the makers of Must Love Dogs want you to like somebody, they slam your hand in a drawer until you say uncle. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Globe and Mail (David Gilmour)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for San Diego Union-Tribune (David Elliott)San Diego Union-Tribune (David Elliott)
Some of the lines are pretty clever, but you need to have a very keen and sticky tolerance for dogs making goo-goo eyes. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at San Diego Union-Tribune (David Elliott)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Aisle Seat (Mike McGranaghan)Aisle Seat (Mike McGranaghan)
Everything that happens here has happened in dozens of romantic comedies before. If you’re thinking of going to see Dogs , all I can say is: you’ve already seen it. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Aisle Seat (Mike McGranaghan)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Seattle Times (Moira MacDonald)Seattle Times (Moira MacDonald)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for San Francisco Chronicle (--)San Francisco Chronicle (--)
The film gets more tepid as it goes along and ultimately just drifts off. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (--)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Newark Star-Ledger (Stephen Whitty)Newark Star-Ledger (Stephen Whitty)
Lately, Hollywood has gotten so obsessed with doing big things badly, it seems to have forgotten how to do small things well. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Newark Star-Ledger (Stephen Whitty)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Los Angeles Daily News (Glenn Whipp)Los Angeles Daily News (Glenn Whipp)
Bland, generic and showing every sign of having been market-tested to death. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Los Angeles Daily News (Glenn Whipp)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for WaffleMovies.com (Willie Waffle)WaffleMovies.com (Willie Waffle)
When a woman who looks like Diane Lane has to use the internet to find a date, something has gone horribly wrong with our world ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at WaffleMovies.com (Willie Waffle)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Contra Costa Times (Mary F. Pols)Contra Costa Times (Mary F. Pols)
There is an extremely supportive and welcoming market for an actress like this in the right romantic comedy. Must Love Dogs is half that movie; witty, rueful, true and sweet. The other half is so conventionally dumb, it hurts. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Contra Costa Times (Mary F. Pols)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Sue Pierman)Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Sue Pierman)
Must Love Dogs makes a good first impression -- it's smart, funny and entertaining. But as the reels unwind, it's missing the special chemistry necessary to make us fall head-over-heels for it. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Sue Pierman)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Fresno Bee (Donald Munro)Fresno Bee (Donald Munro)
The big, dumb movie of the summer for those who can remember Richard Nixon in the White House. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Fresno Bee (Donald Munro)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Blunt Review (Emily Blunt)Blunt Review (Emily Blunt)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Palo Alto Weekly (Jeanne Aufmuth)Palo Alto Weekly (Jeanne Aufmuth)
Its flaws are patently obvious and they aren’t pretty. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Palo Alto Weekly (Jeanne Aufmuth)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for LA Weekly (John Patterson)LA Weekly (John Patterson)
At once over- and under-written, and peppered with tiresome coincidences and misunderstandings, Goldberg’s mechanical, joke-one, joke-two, joke-three approach to ensemble screenwriting soon betrays his TV-sitcom roots. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at LA Weekly (John Patterson)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey)Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey)
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. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Philadelphia Inquirer (Carrie Rickey)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Christian Science Monitor (David Sterritt)Christian Science Monitor (David Sterritt)
Sometimes it's obvious that a project was intended as a "date movie" from the moment a screenwriter typed the first words of dialogue. Such a picture is "Must Love Dogs," which takes its very title from a personal website ad. The heroine is Sarah, ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Christian Science Monitor (David Sterritt)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
"Must Love Dogs" is like a puppy with big brown eyes and a wagging tail who weeps with eagerness to lick your hand, but you take a look around the pound and decide to adopt the sad-eyed ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for St. Louis Post-DispatchSt. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Must Love Dogs" is the sort of film that's commonly referred to as a date movie. That is, it's fun to watch, but not particularly memorable. Still, it's likely to please moviegoers who must see the latest romantic ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Good looks, in theory, shouldn't limit a movie star, but when you see Diane Lane in Must Love Dogs as Sarah, a divorced preschool teacher in her late 30s who is so skittish and insecure about men that she dithers with doubt like the young Mary ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Entertainment Weekly
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Reel.comReel.com
With a lesser cast, this movie wouldn't receive any stars at all. It's that bad. But the actors make the most of it, and thanks to them, it's moderately bearable. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Reel.com
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for ShowBIZ DataShowBIZ Data
Joel Siegel on Good Morning America noted in his review of Must Love Dogs that his dictionary offers two definitions for "dog." One, he says, is "a domesticated mammal of the canine family. Two: the unredeemingly dreadful movies that Hollywood studios ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at ShowBIZ Data
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
The movie is pleasant, sedate, subdued and sweet, but there is not a moment of suspense in it. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for TV Guide (Angel Cohn)TV Guide (Angel Cohn)
The film makes no real impression; it's amiable, occasionally funny and indistinguishable from dozens of other romantic comedies just like it. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at TV Guide (Angel Cohn)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Baltimore Sun (Chris Kaltenbach)Baltimore Sun (Chris Kaltenbach)
Think you know where this film is going? You do, and the best thing about Must Love Dogs is that it takes only 88 minutes to get there - short enough to enjoy the film's modest, well-worn pleasures, but not so long that you feel your time could have been ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Baltimore Sun (Chris Kaltenbach)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Empire Magazine [UK]Empire Magazine [UK]
Less than crowd-pleasing chick flick livened up by John Cusack's self-penned one-liners. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Empire Magazine [UK]
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for The Onion (A.V. Club) (Scott Tobias)The Onion (A.V. Club) (Scott Tobias)
The dialogue and the movie seem as canned as a Must-See TV laugh track. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at The Onion (A.V. Club) (Scott Tobias)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)
Cusack should have been half the picture, but the screenplay keeps shoving him offstage for no good reason, and it's a mistake. One of many. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (David Gilmour)The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (David Gilmour)
What's curious about the film, in an anthropological way, is that it's made up of a series of false human moments yet remains entirely predictable. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (David Gilmour)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 1.75 out of 4 stars for Moviepie.comMoviepie.com
I should have known better than to get all excited about Must Love Dogs, but I always lose my wits when Christopher Plummer factors into the deal. He's the reason I ignored several warning signs, including a heads up to Diane Lane calling someone a ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Moviepie.com
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for Cinema Signals (Jules Brenner)Cinema Signals (Jules Brenner)
One big product placement for a commercial dating service on the web. Its URL is only mentioned 2 or 3 times in the movie so I won't repeat it... unless they send a check. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Cinema Signals (Jules Brenner)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for Boxoffice Magazine (Bridget Byrne)Boxoffice Magazine (Bridget Byrne)
Too pat when it needs to be hairy, Must Love Dogs fails to find the undercurrents of complex emotion beneath its pretty patter surface. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Boxoffice Magazine (Bridget Byrne)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for Empire Magazine (Emma Cochrane)Empire Magazine (Emma Cochrane)
If only the whole script had been as sharp as some of Cusack’s caustic one-liners, then this might have appealed to more than just the Chardonnay brigade. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Empire Magazine (Emma Cochrane)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for TV Guide's Movie Guide (Angel Cohn)TV Guide's Movie Guide (Angel Cohn)
The film makes no real impression; it's amiable, occasionally funny and indistinguishable from dozens of other romantic comedies just like it. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at TV Guide's Movie Guide (Angel Cohn)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for Cinema em Cena (Pablo Villaca)Cinema em Cena (Pablo Villaca)
Uma produção sem entusiasmo ou vida, o que é fatal para seus propósitos. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Cinema em Cena (Pablo Villaca)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for Empire (Emma Cochrane)Empire (Emma Cochrane)
Less than crowd-pleasing chick flick livened up by John Cusack’s self-penned one-liners. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Empire (Emma Cochrane)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for Los Angeles Times (Carina Chocano)Los Angeles Times (Carina Chocano)
Forces them (the cast) to reenact the entire unabridged Encyclopedia of Treasured Romantic Comedy Clichés and Chestnuts, Revised Second Edition. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Los Angeles Times (Carina Chocano)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for Village Voice (Laura Sinagra)Village Voice (Laura Sinagra)
With a character this dull--so dull that we're told over and over how smart and special she is--the resulting glut of date-ad losers seems like just deserts. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Village Voice (Laura Sinagra)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for Orlando Sentinel (Roger Moore)Orlando Sentinel (Roger Moore)
It's OK to be retro with your screen romance, but retro shouldn't feel this inept. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Orlando Sentinel (Roger Moore)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 1.60 out of 4 stars for Arizona Republic (Randy Cordova)Arizona Republic (Randy Cordova)
Must Love Dogs is a film that won't inspire love or hate. It's just sort of there: An inoffensive way to spend an evening. Just remember, you can't get those 107 minutes of your life back. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Arizona Republic (Randy Cordova)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 1.52 out of 4 stars for New York Daily News (Jami Bernard)New York Daily News (Jami Bernard)
Did Lane and John Cusack really have to put themselves through this? Here are two first-rate actors in the embarrassing situation of playing blithering misfits in a lame comedy of errors. ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at New York Daily News (Jami Bernard)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 1.50 out of 4 stars for The Movie Insider (Phil Calabro)The Movie Insider (Phil Calabro)
In these dog days of summer movies, Must Love Dogs should stay locked in the cage along with all the others. This has absolutely nothing to do with dogs—with the mild exception that dogs are featured in the movie—but otherwise it's just another big prop ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at The Movie Insider (Phil Calabro)
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 1.50 out of 4 stars for Tony MedleyTony Medley
Maybe beauty has no relationship with perspicacity. How else explain Diane Lane agreeing to do this movie. Didn't she read the script? For that matter, didn't Christopher Plummer and John Cusack read the script? Because if they ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Tony Medley
Must Love Dogs (2005) scores a combined 1.50 out of 4 stars for Film Threat, Hollywood's Indie VoiceFilm Threat, Hollywood's Indie Voice
At this point in filmmaking history, I'm surprised screenwriters aren't constantly inundating their agents with romantic comedy scripts. There are always a dozen or so in production at any given time, and writing one – if Must Love Dogs is any example ...read the complete Must Love Dogs movie review at Film Threat, Hollywood's Indie Voice
 
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Must Love Dogs (2005)

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Overall Rating:
2.5562
Must Love Dogs (2005) is ranked overall as  out of 4 stars
Avg Critic Score:
2.4792
Must Love Dogs (2005) is ranked overall as  out of 4 stars
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