My Boyfriends' Dogs (2014)

Sadly Over-hyped

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

I would almost call this an anti-romance story. It is more about bad boyfriends and breaking up than about falling in love. It certainly isn't the typical formula for Hallmark.Bailey is a very likable girl. How can you not like her. She becomes whatever you want her to be. And she has a nice personality and is very giving. Don't forget she loves dogs.But Bailey totally demeans herself for her potential boyfriends in the sense that she doesn't stand up for herself. As I said, she becomes whatever they want her to be. She takes up running for #1, but not because she likes it. She becomes a Jazz lover and tries to read what looked like a thousand page book for #2. And she becomes a total wimp for #3.The one we presume she finally ends up with, she barely knows, and neither does the viewer. We had no chance to see a relationship develop beyond their mutual love of dogs.Piece of trivia - Bailey gushes about the book Wuthering Heights to her students. Erika Christensen appeared as Cate in the TV movie.It is an interesting and somewhat different story. I wanted to like it. But by the last 45 minutes (of 2 hr. TV time) I couldn't stand to watch her give herself away any more.

Bailey Daley (Erika Christensen) finds shelter from a rainy night in a diner. She's in a wedding dress with three dogs as she recounts how she got there. She's a high school teacher and French teacher Amber is her best friend. Dina is her widower mother. She dates new gym teacher Wade who has golden retriever Adam. He moves to Seattle with another girl and leaves Adam with her. Pet store owner Cole is running dog adoption day. There's meeting artist Jonathan who has dalmatian Eve. He's a snobby British vegetarian. They break up and he gives Eve to her. Finally, there's Eric. He is reluctant to adopt a dog from the store. His rich family picks out a pure-breed Shih Tzu. His dislike of dogs threatens to tear them apart.Erika Christensen is an enchanting actress. Tyron Leitso could have been a solid companion. They could have solid romantic chemistry. The problem is that they don't spend enough time together. This is a Hallmark movie and the expectations are not that high. However, they need to give a romance time to cook up. All her other guys eat up screen time. There is a solid formula to this type of movies and this is not it.

Erika Christensen stars as a high school teacher eager to meet Mr. Right, but her search proves futile as she realizes her choices are not the best. The movie opens with Christensen running through the rain with three dogs in tow. She comes upon a small diner that just closed and-- looking pathetic and drenched, the owners allow her in. The movie is told through her recounting of how she came to the diner dressed in a wedding gown. Christensen is a lovely actress who fits this role perfectly. Central to the story are some cute little dogs, always a nice addition to any movie. Shot in a small idyllic town somewhere in California, this movie was actually filmed somewhere in Canada (Toronto likely, or Vancouver) and is filled with several fresh Canadian faces. This is a nice 2-hour diversion for the romantic at heart.

I really liked this movie. It was not dull or boring in any way. This movie will definitely lean more towards women(chick flick) due to the romance aspect. I love movies with dogs as long as it ends happily. These dogs in the movie were great and fun to watch on top of it. I loved seeing Joyce DeWitt again on screen. She looks pretty darn good for 65. Teryl Rothery from Cedar Cove was exceptional and fun in her supporting role. The only one gripe I have is the lead character getting all the way to the altar with her last of 3 boyfriends, knowing the whole time she was uncertain about him as a lifelong partner. The Runaway Bride theme, I believe, has been overplayed one too many times.