Charmant compagnon

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.

Lawrence Kasdan is a renowned A-list Hollywood director who scored immediately with major hits like "Body Heat" and "The Big Chill" while writing monster hits for George Lucas. This quirky movie about a lovable stray dog is clearly a pet project of his, pun intended.

I infer that writing so many blockbusters may have proved frustrating for him, so he and his wife Meg scripted this sentimental ensemble piece that's strictly cute and folksy. None of the thrills or audience manipulation of a "Star Wars" sequel of Indiana Jones.

I enjoyed some of the foibles of the vast cast of quirky people, but other than the dog gimmick there's nothing compelling to watch, just actors pretending to be "little", ordinary people with ordinary problems.

Alright, Kasdan, you're sick of genre movies. But relationship movies, let's start with "Annie Hall" since Diane Keaton is the lead here, have so much more than you're willing to provide here. It must have been obvious when you got Sony Pictures to bankroll this baby.

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.

This is a wonderful "feel good" movie that everyone can enjoy. It will be especially meaningful to anyone who has been part of a family when the last child is married off and the parents deal with their adult relationship with each other and other members of their families. It was directed and produced by Lawrence Kasden ( Big Chill, Grand Canyon and many more big time hits ) who also wrote the script along with his wife Meg Kasden . They put together an honest story that showed love, romance and every day comedy in way that most people should be able to relate to and immensely enjoy. They assembled a cast of actors who were able to embody the characters they created in a skillful and very authentic manner. Beth (Diane Keaton) and Joseph (Kevin Kline) are the newly "empty nested" parents as their daughter Grace (Elizabeth Moss of "Mad Men" fame) ,the youngest of their children, finally finds Mr. Right and gets married. Jospeh is a spine surgeon whom Beth acknowledges may have always been a little full of himself but is shown to ultimately be a good guy. Penny is Jospeh's divorced sister (Diane Wiest) who has found her new love Russell (Richard Jenkins) who is a bumbling guy who wants to marry Penny and open an English pub in Iowa. Bryan ( Mark Duplass) is Penny's son who is also a spine doctor and has a touching flirtation with gypsy like housekeeper (Ayelet Zurer) of the family's vacation house in the beautiful Colorado mountains ( which was filmed in the beautiful Utah mountains) . Sam Sheppard is Sheriff Morris who adds further warmth to the already tender story. What we haven't told you yet is that the story is tied together by a lovable dog – that almost magically appears and then disappears ! The movie is the story about the search for the dog which occurs while the characters are finding themselves and their own bearings. The story is just right at 103 minutes . The acting is perfect-Diane Keaton is at her mature best, the country type music hits the spot and the film features a a dog! How can it go wrong?

"Lassie, don't come home."

Will movies never cease to amaze me? How could the creativity behind the pleasing ensemble film Grand Canyon, Lawrence Kasdan and his wife, Meg, be responsible for the insipid drama, Darling Companion?

A lost dog? The hunt curing and binding the principle couples? Please!! Only surgeons, veterinarians, and their wives could have the time and resources to stay at a Colorado lodge to look for a lost dog. Of course, the dog is just the metaphor for the lost romance, to be found, of the couples, mostly Beth (Diane Keaton) and Joseph (Kevin Kline).

It's difficult to describe how banal their interaction is, especially since Keaton overacts, flailing her arms at emotional moments, and Kline appears to wish he hadn't made this movie with his lines appropriate for a high school world premier.

But then, Sam Shepherd, the world-class playwright, has to endure his thankless role as the curmudgeonly sheriff, and Diane Weist can only showcase her world-class cheekbones. Richard Jenkins as her silly love interest, well, he's had a whole lot better than his comic-relief buffoon.

But then the writing Kasdans didn't have to worry about crafting each line since it seems every other line is a scream calling for lost dog, Freeway. When the most conflict you'll get is Joseph's enslavement to his cell, you have an idea that there are no new ideas. I suggest the real conflict is Beth's over dramatizing, which Joseph calls her on.

Once again a film relies on the faded glory of its Hollywood royalty to tell a silly tale about older folk. I'm thinking I might enjoy the second edition of The Expendables, whose 65-year-old Sylvester Stallone is a has been, knows it, and makes no pretense about making a warm and fuzzy film.