A romantic comedy that got by quite a few moviegoers during its original release, The Truth About Cats and Dogs is a 1996 comedy which could be considered a distaff re-thinking of Cyrano de Bergerac, not up to the quality of Steve Martin's Roxanne, but a fun and smart film that should have made a genuine movie star out of its leading lady.
The film stars stand-up comedienne Janeane Garafalo as Abby, the host of the radio call-in show of the title, who almost simultaneously connects with a handsome dog owner named Brian (Ben Chaplin) who calls her show and a beautiful neighbor named Noelle (Uma Thurman) who has just escaped an abusive relationship. When Brian shows up at the radio station to thank Abby for the advice he gave her on the air, a frightfully insecure Abby asks Noelle to pretend to be Abby, but immediately regrets it when she realizes that Brian is sincerely smitten with Noelle's personality, which is really Abby's but Abby is scared that she will scare Brian off when he finds out she doesn't look like Noelle.
This comedy sucks us in right from the beginning because the character of Abby is immensely likable and, as an observer to the goings-on, we don't understand Abby's insecurity about herself and we're certain she and Brian would be instant soul mates. However, the story aggravates as we realize that as much as he loves Abby's personality, he is also smitten by the package wrapped around it in Noelle. Even Noelle, not the brightest bulb in the row, realizes it is Abby that Brian wants but can't convince Abby to come clean.
Audrey Well's screenplay is clever and serves its cast well. Garafalo is an absolute revelation in the role of Abby, her first leading screen role...sort of a Streisand for the 90's, the gal who may not be a raving beauty, but has enough brains and wit to make her looks seems not so important. Garafalo's performance here should have made her an instant movie star, but mysteriously, it didn't. Uma Thurman brings a substance to the role of the empty-headed Noelle that really isn't in the screenplay and Ben Chaplin is a very sexy leading man, a guy who thinks he's torn between two women, but really isn't. The scene where Garafalo and Chaplin have an all-night phone conversation is wonderful but further aggravates us as we wonder why Brian seems oblivious to the fact that the voice of radio Abby is different than the voice of Noelle/Abby and the fact that he accepts Abby's explanation that she uses a "radio voice" is kind of hard to swallow, but I digress.
The film is funny and smart and kept me interested until the final reel because, refreshing for a contemporary film comedy, the ending isn't really foreshadowed. A romantic comedy with a one-of-a-kind lead character that will charm and endear her to you.
The film stars stand-up comedienne Janeane Garafalo as Abby, the host of the radio call-in show of the title, who almost simultaneously connects with a handsome dog owner named Brian (Ben Chaplin) who calls her show and a beautiful neighbor named Noelle (Uma Thurman) who has just escaped an abusive relationship. When Brian shows up at the radio station to thank Abby for the advice he gave her on the air, a frightfully insecure Abby asks Noelle to pretend to be Abby, but immediately regrets it when she realizes that Brian is sincerely smitten with Noelle's personality, which is really Abby's but Abby is scared that she will scare Brian off when he finds out she doesn't look like Noelle.
This comedy sucks us in right from the beginning because the character of Abby is immensely likable and, as an observer to the goings-on, we don't understand Abby's insecurity about herself and we're certain she and Brian would be instant soul mates. However, the story aggravates as we realize that as much as he loves Abby's personality, he is also smitten by the package wrapped around it in Noelle. Even Noelle, not the brightest bulb in the row, realizes it is Abby that Brian wants but can't convince Abby to come clean.
Audrey Well's screenplay is clever and serves its cast well. Garafalo is an absolute revelation in the role of Abby, her first leading screen role...sort of a Streisand for the 90's, the gal who may not be a raving beauty, but has enough brains and wit to make her looks seems not so important. Garafalo's performance here should have made her an instant movie star, but mysteriously, it didn't. Uma Thurman brings a substance to the role of the empty-headed Noelle that really isn't in the screenplay and Ben Chaplin is a very sexy leading man, a guy who thinks he's torn between two women, but really isn't. The scene where Garafalo and Chaplin have an all-night phone conversation is wonderful but further aggravates us as we wonder why Brian seems oblivious to the fact that the voice of radio Abby is different than the voice of Noelle/Abby and the fact that he accepts Abby's explanation that she uses a "radio voice" is kind of hard to swallow, but I digress.
The film is funny and smart and kept me interested until the final reel because, refreshing for a contemporary film comedy, the ending isn't really foreshadowed. A romantic comedy with a one-of-a-kind lead character that will charm and endear her to you.