La verdad acerca de perros y gatos

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.

This film is an absolute gem, showcasing the incredible talents of Janeane Garofalo and highlighting the physical beauty of Uma Thurman (and Ben Chaplin). It is an incredibly well crafted and well-written film due to the efforts of director Michael Lehmann and author Audrey Wells. If there were ever any doubts as to the acting ability of Ms Garofalo this film will put them to rest. There are scenes in which she is positively luminescent as the 'voice on the radio' – Dr Abby Barnes. This film was to be a star vehicle for Uma Thurman: she has top billing both in the opening title sequence and in the closing credits. She also has the personal assistant, personal makeup and hair and even a personal acting coach! But she has worked on just 12 films since 'Cats and Dogs' was released and Ms Garofalo has completed 39! Janeane steals the show (again)! The story is derivative: Basically it is the Cyrano story; however, it is given new life and freshness by the appealing characters and plot twists. I must admit that I am a bit tired of Janeane Garofalo playing the 'ugly' girl roles. She is far from ugly and really should be playing the romantic characters more often. This really is an outstanding film – the scenes with 'Hank' steal the show and the late-night telephone conversation between Abby and Brian should not to be missed.

If it doesn't irk you when a plot hinges on inexplicable errors made by supposedly intelligent characters, then you may not be annoyed by 'The Truth About Cats and Dogs,' a romantic comedy starring Janeane Garofalo as Abby, a supposedly intelligent, supposedly insightful, and supposedly unattractive veterinarian who hosts a radio call-in show.

A shy photographer (Brian or Eric or something) calls in to the show having trouble with a large dog he's mounted on roller skates for a shoot. Oh, he's so cuuuute!!! Our heroine is in a tizzy. They make a date, but too insecure to face him herself, Abby sends her neighbor, Uma Thurman. How this plan is supposed to work to Abby's advantage, I can't say. Time after time Abby and Uma pass up opportunities to straighten out the confusion. It's a good thing too, because that gives them time to learn a valuable lesson about looks and love, which is: Nice guys don't care about looks. Uh huh.

But audiences do, saith the producers. Thus we have the famously fabulous Thurman cast against girl-next-door Garofalo, who is no slouch in the looks department. So, as Abby, she is frumped up from the start in dowdy, fat-girl clothes and flat hair. It's the oldest trick in pictures. As the credits slowly approach, Abby magically acquires better clothes, a more flattering hairstyle, and a makeup job that gives her lush lips and discernible cheekbones. I guess looks still count for something.

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

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.