Movie review - "Must Love Dogs" (2005) **

Diane Lane found stardom unexepctedly late playing glamorous yet battered 40 somethings in Unfaithful and Under the Tuscan Sun and she pops up here in a rom com. She is pretty and gives a nice performance, but lacks the spark of a Meg, Sandra or Julia. Indeed the whole film is undercast - a bright script isn't given the spark it deserves. John Cusack seems to be slumming it, the guy who plays his best mate is a lazy performance, Dermot Mulroney has played the false love interest too many times, Chris Plummer just feels wrong as a loveable Irishman, the wacky support cast aren't wacky enough. Only Stockard Channing manages to hit the right notes. Fairly run of the mill stuff.