Por Fin Solos

Beth Winter (Diane Keaton) rescues a lost dog from the side of a road. Her husband Joseph (Kevin Kline) is a self-important surgeon. Beth brings the dog Freeway home and her daughter Grace (Elisabeth Moss) falls for the vet. At Grace's wedding in the mountains, their nephew Bryan (Mark Duplass) develops a crush on Carmen (Ayelet Zurer) who runs the place. Joseph's sister Penny (Dianne Wiest) has a new boyfriend Russell (Richard Jenkins) who is using her money to start a pub. Joseph carelessly loses the dog in the woods. It sets off a big search for Freeway.

I'm not sure if the stakes are high enough here. It's a bunch of family members with minor issues looking for a dog. It's not like the audience grows to love the dog. It's more of an excuse for each family member to work out their issues. Lawrence Kasdan and his wife have created the lightest and mildest of family drama. The great cast of actor showed up to play but the writing is not up to the task.

Beth (Diane Keaton) has always played second fiddle to her doctor-husband Joseph's (Kevin Kline) job as an orthopedic surgeon. As someone who was busy raising three daughters, this didn't matter so much. But, now the gals are grown and the tension between Beth and Joe is pretty palpable. As they reside in Denver, one snowy winter day, Beth spies a dog on the side of the road, a major highway. She insists that her daughter pull over so they can rescue him. After a trip to the vet, where Beth's daughter makes eyes with the veterinarian, Beth takes "Freeway" the canine home. To be sure, Joseph doesn't really want to keep the mutt but, for once, Beth insists. Over the next few months, Beth and Freeway form a strong attachment while Joe softens his stance a bit. Romance is in the air! Yes, soon the vet and the dog rescuer's girl are walking down the aisle, in a remote area of the state. After the ceremony, Beth, Joe and assorted relatives and friends stay on for a few days at the mountain resort. Alas, Joe takes a call on his cellphone as he is walking the dog and Freeway breaks free and gets lost. As a result, long standing grievances come out between Beth and Joseph, as Beth blames Joe for Freeway's missing status. So, will the lovable canine be found and will it be at the cost of the marriage? This worthwhile film is not without flaws but it is not a disaster by any means. For certain, the cast adds greatly to its entertainment value, as Keaton, Kline, Diane Wiest, Richard Jenkins, and the rest get as much out of their roles as possible. Kline, especially, has a truly unlikeable part, redeemed somewhat at the end, which takes courage to play. Then, too, the scenery is quite wonderful while the photography is equally fine. As for the script, it is definitely uneven and rather haphazardly put together, which makes director Kasdan work harder to polish up the results. Then, too, while the dog in the movie is darling, this is really not an animal flick but rather one about human relationships and their perils. Therefore, if you are attracted to the cast, director, or setting, take a chance on the flick and bring it home.

If your favorite song in the world is The Lovin' Spoonful's "Darlin' Companion," then you'll probably want to rent the cutesy comedy that promoted the song during its trailer. Since the movie isn't very good, you'd better like the song to keep you going. Also, you'd better be a dog person, or at least someone who can understand someone else's love of dogs. If you don't like animals and you don't like the 1960s groovy tune, you're going to be in for a rough night.

Diane Keaton gets to reprise her quirky empty-nester character she perfected in Something's Gotta Give, and Kevin Kline gets to have another rocky marriage in a Lawrence Kasdan movie. In this one, he's a workaholic and doesn't understand his wife's irrational attachment to a stray, mangy dog she picked up off the side of the road. Sounds so much different than his lawyer from Grand Canyon who indulges his wife's affection for an abandoned baby she found off the side of the road, doesn't it? All kidding aside, because even the very best storytellers borrow plot points from their earlier works, this movie is very different from Grand Canyon. It's very light, with a comic relief married couple provided the majority of the entertainment. Dianne Wiest and Richard Jenkins make a very cute couple, and they have some funny scenes together to take your mind off of Diane Keaton's silly antics. If you're just in the mood for something fluffy, this one won't hurt you.

I don't understand all the hate on most of the reviews I've read. There are no special effects, but there are some heavy hitter stars in this movie, and a pleasing storyline. Of course we all know how it's going to end. But the movie, especially for us Boomers, touches on a lot of subjects that we can relate to when it comes to the aging process. And how society can be in a hurry to move us along. Make room for the younger up and coming. The area where this was filmed, Utah and Telluride, are very familiar to me, and a joy to see. This isn't heavy drama, there is no nudity, the plot is not too involved. It's a great movie to take your 80 year old mother-in-law to on a Saturday afternoon. That's what we did, and she loved it. So take Grandma to the movies this week. You'll enjoy the movie, and Grandma will appreciate you taking the time to do it. See you at the movies. :)

I know what you're thinking, do we really need another must-love-dogs romantic comedy? Thankfully, contrary to marketing attempts, "Darling Companion" is not a romantic comedy. It's more like an outdoor adventure, relationship dramedy, mystery. Unfortunately, it did start as if it was a romantic comedy. Mother and daughter were annoyingly commiserating on the problems of finding a good man. Then they found a dog and met a cute doctor.

I was squirming in my seat faster than they could say "I do." But then something funny happened on the way to the wedding. The boring romantic comedy angle was already wrapped up and they dropped the beleaguered jokes comparing man to dog. And then the film became a fairly simple but enjoyable treatise on the relationships and world views of a handful of family members and close friends.

To me, the movie starts when Beth (Diane Keaton)'s dog goes missing. Her husband, Joseph (Kevin Kline), lost it, but he doesn't care. He only likes his money and telling people that he's a doctor. But his practice is just going to have to wait because she's not going home until they find Freeway (the beautiful Collie-mix Kasey). She is helped by Carmen, an exotic sex-goddess who freely admits that she's a psychic gypsy blessed with receiving images of the lost dog. Nephew Brian (Mark Duplass) likes Carmen; he does not like his future step-father Russell (Richard Jenkins). Russell pretty much likes everyone and everything. Joseph doesn't like the dog and he especially doesn't like alleged gypsy psychics leading his family on wild goose chases.

The older members of the audience were laughing first, but eventually a little bit of humour in the form of funny lines came through. Kevin Kline was hilarious as the irritable elitist insulting hippie ideals and alleged gypsy psychics. The dialogue was quick, astute and savvy in navigating all the characters towards happiness in their relationships.

If you can equate the search for the missing dog as a mystery, then it would be worth comparing this film to Woody Allen's "Manhattan Murder Mystery" (1993). A delightful discussion on relationships set to a mystery plot. It doesn't hurt that the cast includes a couple of Allen regulars (Keaton and Dianne Wiest).

It takes awhile to realize that this is not a dull romantic comedy, but if you're looking for a mature, heart-warming relationship dramedy, "Darling Companion" eventually finds its way.