The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996)

When I read the synopsis for "The Truth About Cats & Dogs" I was hoping that it would not be another one of those overly sappy and corny romantic comedy that the movie industry tends to spew out by the dozens. And I was hoping it would be more than such, especially because it had Janeane Garofalo on the cast list.I sat down to watch it in 2016, 20 years after it was released. And this was actually the first time that I have seen it, believe it or not.And it turned out that "The Truth About Cats & Dogs" was a rather enjoyable movie, and one that did offer a bit more than your average run-of-the-mill romantic comedies.The story is about low self-esteemed radio show host Abby who gives a caller named Brian some good advice on how to befriend a dog. And when Brian wants to repay her for her helpful advice, Abby turns to Noelle, a tall model living in her building, to stand in for her and pretend to be her.Of course, there are elements of classic romantic comedy to "The Truth About Cats & Dogs", but it does have more than just that. I liked the aspect of the switched roles and pretending to be someone you are not, as it offered a different approach to the story.And the cast in "The Truth About Cats & Dogs" was just phenomenal. Uma Thurman and Ben Chaplin were doing great jobs and were nicely cast. However, it was Jeneane Garofalo who stole the scene, without a doubt. With her amazing on-screen charisma and presence, she just carried the movie so well on her shoulders. She was an absolute delight to witness in this movie.I was more than genuinely entertained by "The Truth About Cats & Dogs" and it turned out to be a much better movie than I had hoped. So if you haven't already seen his movie, and if you enjoy romantic comedies, then I can more than warmly recommend that you take the time to sit down and watch "The Truth About Cats & Dogs"."The Truth About Cats & Dogs" scores a solid six out of ten stars rating from me.

Dr. Abby Barnes (Janeane Garofalo) hosts the "Truth About Cats and Dogs" radio show. Caller Brian (Ben Chaplin) wants to meet Abby. She gives him a description of her hot neighbor Noelle (Uma Thurman). She comes to the rescue standing up to Noelle's brutish manager-boyfriend. Brian comes to the station to find Abby but mistakes Noelle as Abby. Abby becomes the fake best friend Donna. He falls for Abby's voice and Noelle's body. Ed (Jamie Foxx) is Brian's best friend.It's Cyrano de Bergerac on the surface but more of a sitcom in its substance. These are two dimensional characters. Smart mouthed Garofalo is adorable. Uma Thurman is playing it a little too dumb. At least they have some fun together. The mistaken identity is cute and silly but not really that deep. It's definitely sitcomy with Noelle sticking her finger up a turtle's butt. The best part of the movie is the girls' friendship. The romance isn't quite so compelling and very melodramatic.

What I really like about this movie is actually a sideline. It's a friendship between two women. How many movies can you name which have, centre-stage, a straightforward friendship between two women? Yet real life is full of such friendships. This one is particularly well-done, thanks to the acting talents of Uma Thurman and Janeanne Garofalo. Personally I don't see Uma Thurman as a dumb blonde. I keep getting flashbacks from "Kill Bill" and "Pulp fiction". She is such an intelligent and accomplished actress; but let's face it, she's not stunningly physically attractive - like, say, Scarlett Johannson. Ben Chaplin's somewhat subdued role doesn't do justice to his considerable acting talents, either (catch him in the British sitcom "Game on", you will see what I mean - incidentally Samantha Janus in the same sitcom would have been terrific in the Uma Thurman role). The main reason for giving it 8 is the performance of Janeane Garofalo, which is outstanding. And the dog, and the cat.An enjoyable movie, with some flaws in the structure.

I saw it about a decade ago and thought it was nice but not outstanding. Last night I was rewatching it at my friends' and couldn't help thinking it was unusually good! I guess it's all those 2000s romcoms with their WC humour and cartoon-like characters showed me the true depths of profanity :) This movie, quite competent in itself, now stands out more in comparison. The plot is rather unrealistic as common in this type of films (the premise aside it's hard to believe that Brian couldn't identify the real Abby by her voice - the very feature he'd initially fallen for!) but the characters are not one-dimensional and one can relate to each of the three. Both Abby and Noelle are sweet and warm in their different ways, and Brian the lover is ardent and romantic yet not completely idiotic in his strange situation :) I agree with many reviewers that the phone sex scene is a bit off, but the following scene with the snicker throwing (and his putting it to his heart) makes up for it. It's just priceless. And I think it makes sense that Abby finds it even more difficult to tell him the truth after. The emotional development is delivered pretty well, I enjoyed seeing Brian start to really like Abby (the photographing and, to a degree, the sunset scenes) while still being dazed by combined Abby/Noelle perfect woman's image, and also Abby/Noelle interaction involving friendship, jealousy, competition... it really ringed true to me. The sunset scene was a bit off character: I mean Brian is far beyond friendly in it and there's undeniable attraction, so one naturally thinks he'd either realize "Donna' was the one for him and not "Abby", or be considered flirting with his love's best friend in her absence. We actually don't see the former nor want to see the later! Abby's face expression is very touching in it, though. The movie hits its best in the part when Brian figures it all out and later the cafe scene. It gets to your heart to see how people can lose a chance of finding true love (or another good relationship, for that matter) due to their fear of rejection and lies. If the film stopped at this point it would be far more thought-provoking actually, but that would be another genre (and the movie would be Russian or French :)).But some of the script deficiency is compensated by acting (esp. Garofalo's). And of course the dog is just dearie. The end lines cracked me up again!