I'm not entirely sure how this particular film ended up on my wishlist. Probably Amazon recommended it to me based on the genre (light romantic comedy); I don't think it can have been related to the actors or actresses, as I hadn't come across any of them before.
Whatever the reason, I was happy to be given 'The Truth about Cats and Dogs' for Christmas, and watched it with my husband and son a few days later.
It's the story of Abby (Janeane Garofalo) who is a vet, and hosts a radio show. Listeners with pet problems call in, and she explains what they should do. She is well-liked, but for some reason - possibly the fact that she is short - has terrible self-esteem. One day she gets a call from a man called Brian (Ben Chaplin) in an unusual and amusing situation.. and after she helps him, he asks to meet her.
Abby considers herself unattractive, and - somewhat by accident - sets him up with her tall, blonde neighbour Noelle (Uma Thurman). A case of mistaken identity ensues when Brian assumes that Noelle is Abby, and nobody lets him know the truth.. leading to a the humour that can easily go with this rather cliched situation, although Noelle is slightly irritating as a somewhat gormless dumb blonde stereotype.
Eventually all is resolved satisfactorily, and I would have liked the film very much had it not been for the added parts that pushed the rating up to 15 in the UK - a few unnecessary swear words, and a bizarre, equally unnecessary pseudo-sex scene via the phone. The US rating of PG-13 seems surprisingly low.
Still, overall we thought it an enjoyable film, if a little dated (it was made in 1996). It has a good message about the importance of personality above looks... although that was a little puzzling since Abby came across as considerably more attractive than the tall blonde Noelle.
Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews
Whatever the reason, I was happy to be given 'The Truth about Cats and Dogs' for Christmas, and watched it with my husband and son a few days later.
It's the story of Abby (Janeane Garofalo) who is a vet, and hosts a radio show. Listeners with pet problems call in, and she explains what they should do. She is well-liked, but for some reason - possibly the fact that she is short - has terrible self-esteem. One day she gets a call from a man called Brian (Ben Chaplin) in an unusual and amusing situation.. and after she helps him, he asks to meet her.
Abby considers herself unattractive, and - somewhat by accident - sets him up with her tall, blonde neighbour Noelle (Uma Thurman). A case of mistaken identity ensues when Brian assumes that Noelle is Abby, and nobody lets him know the truth.. leading to a the humour that can easily go with this rather cliched situation, although Noelle is slightly irritating as a somewhat gormless dumb blonde stereotype.
Eventually all is resolved satisfactorily, and I would have liked the film very much had it not been for the added parts that pushed the rating up to 15 in the UK - a few unnecessary swear words, and a bizarre, equally unnecessary pseudo-sex scene via the phone. The US rating of PG-13 seems surprisingly low.
Still, overall we thought it an enjoyable film, if a little dated (it was made in 1996). It has a good message about the importance of personality above looks... although that was a little puzzling since Abby came across as considerably more attractive than the tall blonde Noelle.
Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews
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