Father and child sit together smiling while looking at a smart phone.

Want more recommendations for your family?

Sign up for our weekly newsletter for entertainment inspiration

Parents' Guide to

Must Love Dogs

By Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Cute but predictable -- teen girls may like it.

Movie PG-13 2005 98 minutes
Must Love Dogs Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all
age 14+

Based on 3 parent reviews

wonder dove
wonder dove Adult
February 1, 2013
age 13+

Too cute!

Pretty good movie! It took me while to actually see this movie as I'm not a huge chick flick fan because they always turn out the same. However, yes this was predictable but it was also fun. I thought I'd only last about half of it but ended up watching it all! I admire John Cusack, he is such a wonderful actor. Diane Lane was refreshing (if you want to see her younger as a teen watch The Outsiders!) The film is an upbeat romantic comedy with plenty of laughs, but not much dog stuff which I was hoping for. Language is pretty mild. Sexual content is quite frequent but nothing extreme - lots of dating scenes, dating sites, talking about dating, kissing, a couple search for a condom and end up driving to several stores but then change their minds about going to bed, scene of a revealing cleavage shown in a skimpy dress, lots of relationship talk...etc. No real violence to worry about. I'll be watching this one again soon!

This title has:

Too much sex
Eluminahta
Eluminahta Parent of 15 and 16-year-old
December 7, 2009
age 13+
I enjoyed the movie. It was kind of predictable but that can be comforting sometimes. Use your discretion as a parent before allowing your teen to view it. J.E.N.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
Great messages
Great role models
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Preschool teacher and divorcee Sarah (Diane Lane) doesn't want to think of herself as desperate, but her family -- widower dad Bill (Christopher Plummer), a bunch of brothers, and a couple of sisters, including Carol (the excellent Elizabeth Perkins) -- press the point. With Carol's prodding, Sarah enters her data into a dating site. Though her first "match" is her father ("This is disturbing on so many levels," she groans), she persists, meeting with a number of bad matches (sad guy, cocky guy, preoccupied guy), until she finds Jake (the way-too-smart-for-formula-comedies John Cusack). Also recently divorced, he loves Doctor Zhivago (because it's about "a love so real it hurts even after you're dead") and crafts wooden skulls (boats) for a living. He's clever, speeds through his dialogue ("You are kind of 'voluptuous,'" he notes, observing a dubious description in her Internet ad, "in a minimalist kind of way"), and worries about how he comes across. He is, in a word, perfect guy.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (2 ):

Burdened by a familiar premise (Internet daters are desperate), MUST LOVE DOGS constrains its excellent performers. Sarah wants most to avoid the fate of one of her father's girlfriends, the dazzling Dolly (Stockard Channing). She sees the Internet as a new horizon ("It's part fantasy, part community," she gushes, "And it lets you pay your bills naked"), but thinks again when she meets in person one of "chat" partners, a 15-year-old boy who's developed a serious crush on her.

Perhaps because he's so young, this kid has conviction, though he duly leaves when instructed ("Do your homework," says Dolly has she loads him in a cab). Sarah's route to her relationship is more roundabout, even though Jake is obviously the right choice. Cusack's refreshingly odd physical and verbal rhythms only make you want to see more of him. And why does Jake spend even a minute with the nubile, cheap-joke-in-a miniskirt Sherry (Jordana Spiro)? He's so obviously Sarah's right choice that the rest of the movie looks like wheel-spinning.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Sarah's family's meddling in her dating business: they mean well, but the film suggests they are pushy too, such that Sarah worries about being single. How is Sarah distracted by her widower father's dating? How is her choice between Bob and Jake reduced to who seems less "scary" to her? How does the Internet affect the ways people interact, in romance and as families?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate