Rating:
Genre:
Soundtrack
Release Date: 07/26/2005
You'd think that a
rom-com soundtrack that begins with
Christopher Plummer reciting
Yeats' poem "Brown Penny" would be different than your average collection of sweet, sentimental
film music. And you'd be right: the
soundtrack to
Must Love Dogs is certainly quirky, but perhaps not in the ways the people behind it intended. The album veers between unique choices like the opening track and hyper-traditional ones like
Linda Ronstadt's
"When Will I Be Loved?" and
the quintessential
romantic comedy soundtrack song,
Natalie Cole's
"This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)," which has been in so many movies of this kind that it feels like it's on loan. In fact, later on
Must Love Dogs actually does borrow from one of the all-time great romantic scores,
"Prelude and Lara's Theme" from
Dr. Zhivago. The
soundtrack also has a twangy angle, with
Ronstadt's hit,
Sheryl Crow's cover of
"The First Cut Is the Deepest," and tracks from
country-pop singers as well as artists who flirt with
country, such as
Stephanie Bentley and
Susan Haynes.
Susie Suh's gorgeous
"Shell" and
Rodney Crowell's sweetly traditional
"What Kind of Love" are the highlights in this area, although
Rilo Kiley's
"I Never" and
Ryan Adams & the Cardinals'
"Dance All Night" are on surprisingly equal footing with these songs while adding a faint whiff of hipness (much like
John Cusack's presence in the film). By spanning songs like these, as well as
Eddie Holman's flawless
"Hey There Lonely Girl" and a goofy cast singalong of the
Partridge Family theme
"Come on Get Happy," Must Love Dogs certainly has personality -- in fact, it has multiple personalities.
~Heather Phares, All Music Guide