My beautiful bride and I just finished watching Must Love Dogs. I am a huge John Cusack fan, as is Lynn. However, Must Love Dogs barely bubbled up above the “sure could have done something more enjoyable with the last two hours of my life” mark. It was a cute film, to be sure, and those involved did decent-enough jobs. Christopher Plummer was excellent, as always. It just seemed like it was a really long, drawn-out, wholly predictable, average romance movie (guys–read: “chick flick”). And this was no fault of John Cusack, honestly. I mean, really, it seemed like he was intentionally left out of most of the movie. And the ending, when they finally did realize that they loved each other–that must have been the shortest romantic ending to a film that I ever have seen. Wholly incongruous. It’s a word. Look it up. =:)

This, my friend, was no Serendipity. Now that movie (also a John Cusack film) was most probably the most agonizingly enjoyable romance movie that I have ever seen. John Cusack was incredibly good in it. And he was very good in Must Love Dogs too–when he was allowed to be on the screen.

Also, is it just me or is the current predictable recipe in romance movies to put as many double-backs/twists/turns/heartbreaks into the movie until the time just runs out? I think I counted 47 in Must Love Dogs–an amazingly painful amount, to be sure.

So, if you ask me (and I know you’re not… it’s more an expression of speech, dear reader), if you’re in the mood to see a good romance movie, go rent Serendipity.

If you’re in the mood to see a good John Cusack movie and aren’t particularly of the romance-movie persuasion, do yourself a favor and go rent Grosse Pointe Blank. Grosse Pointe Blank is without a doubt one of the best and most funny John Cusack movies, ever made, coming darned-near close even to Better Off Dead. Really. Must Love Dogs, however, is not.