The Truth About Cats & Dogs

I tend to dislike most of the serious romantic movies like 'Titanic' etc. They're just not my kind to be honest. Love many of the classics like 'Sabrina'. I would have enjoyed 'The Truth About Cats & Dogs' a lot more if there was a little more comedy to it. It's an okay (and forgettable) movie with some decent performances and a few good moments but at some point it seems to drag. Perhaps a little editing would have helped. On the one hand I can understand why Jeanine Garofalo is cast as the 'ugly' girl (she looks far from ugly) but, in my humble opinion, she's not portrayed as an 'ugly' girl but rather as a woman who thinks of herself as unattractive. Yet, I thought that the Lehman really went a little too far, at times, by focusing on her 'ugliness' e.g. by showing people on the street calling ugly at her character. In contrast, Uma Thurman looks a lot less attractive than usual and she's portrayed as the 'hot' one. To an extent 'Lehman' does succeed in showing the stereotypical beauty that's created by the media (Thurman's character) and what would be considered as less attractive (Garofalo's character). Garofalo is very likable. Her on screen personality here does not differ much from her other roles but she succeeds in what she set out to do. Thurman is a little over the top at times but otherwise makes a great comparison to her female co-star. The two actresses share a very warm chemistry. Ben Chaplin is quite alright and fortunately he doesn't do the American accent. In a nutshell, it's a average film that could have been better.

When I read the synopsis for "The Truth About Cats & Dogs" I was hoping that it would not be another one of those overly sappy and corny romantic comedy that the movie industry tends to spew out by the dozens. And I was hoping it would be more than such, especially because it had Janeane Garofalo on the cast list.

I sat down to watch it in 2016, 20 years after it was released. And this was actually the first time that I have seen it, believe it or not.

And it turned out that "The Truth About Cats & Dogs" was a rather enjoyable movie, and one that did offer a bit more than your average run-of-the-mill romantic comedies.

The story is about low self-esteemed radio show host Abby who gives a caller named Brian some good advice on how to befriend a dog. And when Brian wants to repay her for her helpful advice, Abby turns to Noelle, a tall model living in her building, to stand in for her and pretend to be her.

Of course, there are elements of classic romantic comedy to "The Truth About Cats & Dogs", but it does have more than just that. I liked the aspect of the switched roles and pretending to be someone you are not, as it offered a different approach to the story.

And the cast in "The Truth About Cats & Dogs" was just phenomenal. Uma Thurman and Ben Chaplin were doing great jobs and were nicely cast. However, it was Jeneane Garofalo who stole the scene, without a doubt. With her amazing on-screen charisma and presence, she just carried the movie so well on her shoulders. She was an absolute delight to witness in this movie.

I was more than genuinely entertained by "The Truth About Cats & Dogs" and it turned out to be a much better movie than I had hoped. So if you haven't already seen his movie, and if you enjoy romantic comedies, then I can more than warmly recommend that you take the time to sit down and watch "The Truth About Cats & Dogs".

"The Truth About Cats & Dogs" scores a solid six out of ten stars rating from me.

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

A modern retelling of the Cyrano de Bergerac tale, except the genders are reversed. Janeane Garafalo is a veterinarian on a radio talk show who gives on-air advice to pet owners. However, she has a poor self-image about her looks, and cocoons herself away from possible relationships, in an effort to shield herself from inevitable disappointment and hurt.

If the movie has one weakness, it's the fact that Garafalo is cast as an ugly duckling. No way, folks; this woman is beautiful. Depending on whether one prefers petite brunettes or tall blondes, you may think she's even cuter than co-star Uma Thurman.

Both Garafalo and Thurman are splendid, and play off each other well in their awkward friendship/romantic rivalry situation. Thurman's ditsy wanna-be actress is very sympathetic; Garafalo's intellectual but emotionally guarded Dr. Abby at times is heartbreaking. Ben Chaplin as Brian, the object of their affections, turns in a good performance of his own. One scene where two of these actors interact with eyes only--no dialogue for at least 30 sec.--is extremely powerful.

Funny bits pop up at strategic moments. The banter between Abby and Brian is like a one-liner ping-pong match; their spontaneous wit is fun to ride along with (almost like a Neil Simon play). Brian's dog is one of the best animals in a flick that I've seen in a while, he did comedy as well as his human counterparts.

A good movie worth spending an evening on, especially as a date flick.

Without a doubt, my favorite play ever written is CYRANO DE BERGERAC, by Edmund Rostand. People can tell me it's sentimental and mawkish, but I don't care; I absolutely love it. I've seen, I think, most, if not every, movie which has been inspired by it, from the 1950 version by Jose Ferrer(the movie is stagy and changes the play, but he's wonderful), to ROXANNE in 1987, Steve Martin's wonderful re-working of the play as romantic comedy, and best of all, the 1990 version starring Gerard Depardieu(how appropriate France's greatest actor should appear in it giving his best performance). Now comes this movie, which is inspired by it(as I understand it, writer Audrey Wells is a big fan as well) rather than being an outright remake of it, but it's still quite good.

Admittedly, it all hangs on a rather thin premise; that Brian(Ben Chaplin) is unable to tell the voices of Abby(Janeane Garofalo) and Noelle(Uma Thurman) apart. But romantic comedies have had more outrageous concepts before, and no one complained about how realistic they were(like RUNAWAY BRIDE; does anyone believe that one?). And by switching genders, it's able to talk about how women are forced to conform to an impossible ideal of beauty. And yet, at the same time, the message comes through comedy, so you're not being hit over the head.

Also, the performers are quite engaging. It goes without saying Janeane Garofalo is terrific in her first lead role. She's funny, as could be expected, but as she's had to fight the impossible ideal of beauty much of her career, you can sense something personal for her, and she brings that out without getting mawkish. Uma Thurman sends up the "dumb blonde" role without condescending to her. Plus, we like Noelle for the same reason we like Christian in the original; she's actually smarter about love than Abby is(when she says of Brian, "Plus, he's got this one, tiny little fault. He loves you."). Chaplin of course has the object of desire role, which is tough to play, but he brings humor and intelligence to it. And, of course, the dog is great.