While the title indicates otherwise, it is not actually necessary to like dogs to enjoy this movie. It is, however, important to have a sense of humor about divorce.

“Must Love Dogs” is a romantic comedy that tells the story of the divorced, middle-aged Sarah (Diane Lane), whose friends and family sign her up for a dating website to help her find a boyfriend. The only catch is that all the men on this site aren’t really up to, well, anybody’s standards. Such cyber hopefuls as a man who cries all the time and even Sarah’s own father prove that internet dating is no guarantee of finding love.

“Must Love Dogs” is interesting in that while it’s typical in certain aspects, in other ways it’s very original. There are a lot of corny puns and cheese (in the credits the disclaimer against animal cruelty runs something like this: “No animals were hurt in the making of this movie, but they were petted within an inch of their lives.”). At the same time, there is a lot of rich comedy.

John Cusack, who plays Lane’s unsure love interest, is hilarious. You may know him from “Say Anything” and “Better Off Dead.” Even though he’s aged a bit since these movies, his character in “Must Love Dogs” is reminiscent of his teenage years.

Diane Lane is also wonderful. In fact, the only problem with her character is that it is simply unbelievable to imagine anyone so pretty having trouble getting a date.

Overall, “Must Love Dogs” is a great movie. .