The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996)

A successful veternarian & radio show host with low self-esteem asks her model friend to impersonate her when a handsome man wants to see her.

Director:

Michael Lehmann

Writer:

Audrey Wells

Stars:

Uma Thurman, Janeane Garofalo, Ben Chaplin

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Uma Thurman	...	Noelle
Janeane Garofalo	...	Abby
Ben Chaplin	...	Brian
Jamie Foxx	...	Ed
James McCaffrey	...	Roy
Richard Coca	...	Eric
Stanley DeSantis	...	Mario
Antoinette Valente	...	Susan
Mitch Rouse	...	Bee Man
La Tanya M. Fisher	...	Emily
Faryn Einhorn	...	Child Model
David Cross	...	Voice of Male Radio Caller / Bookstore Man
Mary Lynn Rajskub	...	Female Radio Caller (voice)
Bob Odenkirk	...	Bookstore Man
Dechen Thurman	...	Bookstore Cashier

Storyline

Janeane Garofalo plays Dr. Abby Barnes, the "Truth About Cats and Dogs" radio question-and-answer show host who unwittingly entices a listener over the radio with her soothing voice and personality. This listener, Brian, tries to meet the Abby from the radio, but Noelle, played by Uma Thurman, is mistaken for the real thing when Brian comes to the studio. Instead of clearing things up right away, the self-conscious Abby allows her best friend, Noelle, a tall, stunning blonde, to take her place for a while. Abby takes on the made-up persona of Donna, while thinking Brian would never go for her, a short, cute, brunette, who thinks she's unattractive. As the real Abby woos Brian over the phone and radio, Noelle, the pseudo-Abby, takes her place in the flesh. As time goes on, Abby feels more and more confident that Brian would rather have the beautiful Noelle than the simply attractive Abby.

---

Plot Keywords:

friendship between women | veterinarian | radio show host | love triangle | insecurity | 

---

Taglines:

Brian's about to discover the woman he loves isn't the woman he loves.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 on appeal for a sex-related scene and brief strong language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 April 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

La verdad acerca de perros y gatos

Filming Locations:

Le Borghese Apartments - 450 North Sycamore Avenue, Hancock Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$145,655, 19 July 1996

Gross USA:

$34,073,143, 11 August 1996

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Noon Attack

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although this is Janeane Garofalo's first starring role, Uma Thurman naturally got top billing because she was a much more famous name, even though she only gets half the screen time Garofalo does.

---

Goofs

When is taking photographs of Abby, he switches from a tripod-mounted to a camera to a hand held camera. When he does this, he doesn't change the flash to the new camera (the flash hot shoe is shown to have nothing connected), yet the flash still fires. The flashes in question are studio flash heads powered from a remote pack. They are fired via a PC sync cord which can be clearly seen attached to the PC sync socket on the left hand side of each body.

---

Quotes

Brian: Who are you? What is this? Is this some kind of weird game you two play for kicks, you take some guy and see how much you can screw him up!
Abby: No, it was a mistake.

---

Crazy Credits

In the opening scene, when Janeane Garofalo is about to get on the elevator, as the credits come to an end, Micheal Lehmann's credit is crushed by the elevator doors.

---

Connections

Referenced in Night of the Living Doo (2001)

---

Soundtracks

Russian Elegy
for Violin
Composed by Patti Weiss

User Reviews

Truth Must Be Told: I like this romantic comedy that echoes "Syrano de Bergerac".

Janeane Garofalo stars as Abby, a veterinarian who has her own radio show. She is a cultured, educated woman, who is smart, has a good sense of humor and makes a great living. The problem is that her self-esteem is low because she does not find herself attractive being 5'1 brunette who once upon a time while in college had gained 40 pounds. Well, she looked like she lost all of them and she was charming if you ask me (perhaps, it is solidarity of another 5'0 brunette ) but when she developed a relationship over the phone with one of the callers, she tells him that she is 5'10" statuesque blonde who is hard to miss. The blonde (Uma Thurman) happened to be her next-door neighbor, the aspiring model/actress who agrees to go on the date instead of Abby... It may sound like cliché, and the film has several holes in the plot but is very enjoyable thanks to wonderful performance by Janeane and to these words:

"You know how someone's appearance can change the longer you know them? How a really attractive person, if you don't like them, can become more and more ugly; whereas someone you might not have even have noticed... that you wouldn't look at more than once, if you love them, can become the most beautiful thing you've ever seen. All you want to do is be near them."

7/10