Truth About Cats & Dogs
Animal attraction is more than meets the eye.
For both your romantic and funny bone pleasure "The Truth about Cats & Dogs" is a feel-good-movie that tickled me, with its sweet, humorous, and witty update of the Cyrano De Bergerac love story.
Veterinarian Abby Barnes (Janeane Garofalo), host of popular radio talk show "The Truth about Cats and Dogs", is a fantastic lady whose understanding and compassion to her viewers and their pets is evident by her natural and calm ability to help her callers in need and by the bushels of mail she receives from viewers.
One afternoon, Abby gets an emergency call she's never dealt with before. A panicking caller named Brian (Ben Chaplin), a photographer, is having a bit of a challenge getting roller skates off a very big and insecure dog named Hank, who he picked up at the pound earlier in the day for his photo shoot.
Abby's insightfulness and soothing voice brings a sense of reassurance to Brian's situation, but ideally it is the reassurance in Hank's well being that Abby is working on getting Brian to focus on and it succeeded brilliantly!
Brian, thankful for Abby's brilliant help, sends her a photo of Hank and asks her out for a drink. Although Abby has oodles of personality, brains, success, a heck of a twisted sense of humor, and a fast, fresh outspokenness, she is totally insecure over her physical appearance. Abby describes herself as the complete opposite of what she really looks like, after flipping through a magazine that showed an ad of her next-door neighbor Noelle (Uma Thurman), who happens to be a statuesque Blondie model and a great beauty.
You probably know what happens next...How this love triangle works out its difficulties will warm the hearts of all romantics.
The movie's cast won me over from the beginning and continued throughout the movie. There really isn't a dull or uninteresting beat in the movie. It's fun to watch and it lifts your spirit with the positive message that beauty is not everything and real love proves it.
Janeane Garofalo was outstandingly funny, perky and a fireball of rip-roaring fun. Her character showed true friendship, someone who you could feel comfortable sharing your most inner thoughts with and know she cares about what you're saying.
Uma Thurman was wonderful and her personality was a combination of innocent and slightly frail with ambition and hopes, but lacking the judgment people skills. She also infused the true heart of what makes a friendship stay honest.
Ben Chaplin was just sooo cute and knowing what a great guy his character played, I would happily accept his offer of meeting for a drink. How lucky can a girl get in meeting someone like him; a guy who's sweet, funny, artsy, loves animals, and is looking for something lasting? Oh yeah, and he's English, just love the English!
Cats & Dogs is irresistibly charming!
Written by: Lynda Dale MacLean
Reviewers Rating: 8
Reader's Rating: 9.00
Reader's Votes: 3
Added: 31-Dec-2003
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