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'Must Love Dogs': Cusak and Lane can't save this contrived story

Summer has been long on thrills, but short on romance.

While action, sci-fi and comic-book movies have romped at the box office in recent months, romantic comedy hits have been as few as phone calls on a Friday night when you're sitting home alone

Warner Brothers Pictures 'Must Love Dogs' C+ The verdict: Doesn't stray from standard "rom-com" formula. Director: Gary David Goldberg Starring: Diane Lane, John Cusack, Elizabeth Perkins, Christopher Plummer, Dermot Mulroney Run time: 98 minutes Release date: July 29, 2005 Rating: PG-13 for sexual content. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate "Must Love Dogs"   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

Must Love Dogs should appeal to those looking for a film with a little humor and heart, as opposed to big explosions.

Based on the best-selling novel by Claire Cook, the traditional "meet-cute" movie stars Diane Lane and John Cusack as two divorced people in their late 30s who are both looking for love, but reluctant to start dating again.

The film offers appealing performances and some amusing one-liners, thanks to director Gary David Goldberg, a veteran television sitcom writer who also adapted the screenplay.

But like a like a dog in a yard hemmed by an invisible fence, it doesn't stray from standard "rom-com" formula.

Must Love Dogs trots out such familiar genre conventions as the large, quirky ethnic family; the obsession with a classic romantic movie; and the impromptu group sing-along. Here, it's Lane's meddling Irish clan; Cusack's endless re-watching of Dr. Zhivago; and The Partridge Family theme song, Come On, Get Happy.

Lane portrays Sarah Nolan, a pre-school teacher who has been divorced for eight months. Her family, led by patriarch Christopher Plummer, goes so far as to stage an "intervention" to help her find a new man.

Cusack is Jake Anderson, a newly divorced romantic who builds hand-crafted teak racing boats.

The two meet after Sarah's sister, Carol (Elizabeth Perkins), writes her an Internet personal ad that includes the title line, which Jake's snarky lawyer pal answers on his behalf.

Neither Sarah nor Jake own a dog, so they both borrow one from family or friends. Dogs, in fact, are incidental to the story.

It's clear that Sarah and Jake belong together, so, of course, the film contrives ways to keep them apart. Such obstacles include Bob Connor (Dermot Mulroney) — the handsome, newly separated father of one of Sarah's students.

Must Love Dogs is buoyed by witty banter, but the humor tends toward the obvious and the episodic plot is predictable.

Cusack kicks things up a notch with his offbeat performance, as does Stockard Channing as Plummer's own Internet love interest.

Audiences clearly are hungry for a good romantic comedy, judging by the packed screening audience of mostly women in their 30s and 40s. But that doesn't mean that they'll take to this one like a dog to a bone.

Exiting the theater, one woman perfectly summed up Must Love Dogs to her friend: "It's a rental."

Just the thing for a Friday home alone.