The Truth About Cats and Dogs Review
by Ben Hoffman (ben DOT hoffman AT bcsbbs DOT com)May 14th, 1996
THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS & DOGS
A film review by Ben Hoffman
Copyright 1996 Ben Hoffman
If you are looking for an entertaining film, and who is not, you could do a lot worse than dropping in on THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND DOGS. The title comes from a radio talk show whose host, a veterinarian, is Abby Barnes (Janeane Garofolo). With charm and wit she hands out advice to those who call in asking for advice about their animals. Abby is very good at helping those with problems but her own, as is often the case in Life, are not as easy for her to solve.
For one thing, the adorable and charming Abby thinks she is neither adorable nor charming, so when Brian (Ben Chaplin) phones in about his dog who loves to lick his face and Brian likes both the advice and the sound of the voice dispensing the advice , Abby is at a loss when Brian asks if he can meet her at a restaurant .and thank her personally. "What do you look like?" Brian asks. "There goes the ballgame," Abby thinks. In a panic she describes herself as tall and blonde, a description that fits her neighbor, Noelle (Uma Thurman). In any case, she has no intention of meeting Brian so what is a little lie?
Much like a female version of Cyrano, THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND DOGS, has just what it takes to make the film so much fun to watch. Brian searches for Abby and finds her. As the tall, willowy blonde Noelle happens to be visiting her friend, it is natural that Brian thinks Noelle is Abby; the description fits what Abby had told him. >From there, Brian's falling in love with the woman he thinks is Abby, makes for a funfilled film of mistaken identity but with its own clever version. It's a delight.
Directed by Michael Lehmann
Rating: 3 Bytes
4 Bytes = Superb
3 Bytes = Too good to miss
2 Bytes = Average
1 Byte = Save your money
Ben Hoffman
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