Must Love Dogs

A light romantic comedy centered on Sarah Nolan (played by Diane Lane), a preschool teacher in her 30s, who recently divorced. After a series of disastrous, but hilarious, dates she decides to swear off dating for good. Her well-meaning sister enrolls her in online dating and includes the description of "must love dogs". She does loves dogs but doesn't own one of her own, so she borrows her brother's dog to meet a blind date at a dog park. What she doesn't know is that Jake Anderson (played by John Cusack in the movie) also had to borrow a dog. After a series of misadventures, you hope to have the ending that all movies of this genre have!

The 2005 film is based on a novel written by Claire Cook.

Tropes used in Must Love Dogs include:

• Big Friendly Dog: Mother Theresa, Sarah's brother's Newfoundland (same breed as the trope pic) that is afraid of water.
• Chick Flick
• Dating Service Disaster: Don't go to an online dating service your dad is also using.
• Pet Homosexual: Sarah's best friend
• Romantic False Lead: Bob
• Second Love: The basic premise of the movie.
• Shout-Out:
  • Jake is wearing a tshirt with the band "The Ramones" on it.
  • The sisters decide to bond over the movie Beaches.
• This Is Wrong on So Many Levels: Sarah answers her own father's personal ad:

Sarah: This is disturbing on many levels.