Must Love Dogs (2005)


Newly divorced school teacher Sarah Nolan (Diane Lane) has a family who loves her so much, they set out to find a boyfriend who is husband material. Sarah is already involved with the dad of one of the preschoolers. Bill (Dermot Mulroney) is separated and adores Sarah, as does his son, but the relationship is not going anywhere. So, unbeknownst to Sarah, her sister Carol (Elizabeth Perkins) places an ad on the Internet in PerfectMatch.com and sets her up a series of disastrous dates. In one funny scene, Sarah shows up for a blind date and discovers that her own father had answered the ad. He handles it well--she does not.

However, Sarah does meet one man who may be 'the one'. But first she has to borrow her brother's dog since the ad said "must love dogs", she assumes that she should have one to show when she meets her date, newly divorced Jake Anderson (John Cusack). Jake is a charming man who builds wood boats by hand. When he smiles he explains why his love of these sleek boats, "They may not win, but they lose beautifully." you have to admire his sweetness and style.

You will love Sarah's handsome widowed father, Bill (Christopher Plummer) who is no stranger to the Internet dating scene. He has more than his share of women and quite happy with the situation, thank you very much. He invites all of them to dinner at the same time. Stockard Channing as one of dad's women is just wonderful.

Rated PG-13