A hybrid of the ’90s comedies "The Truth about Cats and Dogs" and "You’ve Got Mail," the new romantic comedy "Must Love Dogs," starring Diane Lane and John Cusack, combines a pseudo-love for canines with a desperate, but still somehow charming, desire to meet the love of one’s life.

Sarah (Lane) and Jake (Cusack) portray two 40-something adults scarred by divorce, whose over-zealous friends and family throw them each into the scary, yet increasingly popular, world of online dating. Using perfectmatch.com, an actual online dating Web site, the two develop a surprisingly quick attachment during a very brief first date at a dog park, only to have the budding relationship thrown into turmoil by the presence of "incorrigible" Bobby (Dermot Mulroney), the handsome and playboy-esque father of one of Sarah’s preschool students.

Christopher Plummer (Bill) and Stockard Channing (Dolly) deliver solid supporting cast performances as Sarah’s Irish-Catholic father, and the vivacious, yet surprisingly soulful, woman he is dating.

The film has its unique moments. In one of the best scenes, Lane prepares frantically for her first internet-inspired date only to be unknowingly met at the restaurant by her own father; and later Lane shines as she adopts a series of wacky personalities for a varied number of first dates.

Claire Cook’s novel is adapted into a smartly written and at times heartbreaking screenplay by Gary David Goldberg. The dialogue, sharper and wittier than most romantic comedies, is enhanced by the delivery of the two stars — particularly Lane. The actors have surprisingly, and disappointingly, little on-screen time together, which makes it difficult to get behind the couple 100 percent. The predictable outcome is forgivable, but the uncreative ending doesn’t live up to the movie’s well-crafted first half.

Directed by Gary David Goldberg, the film delivers a positive message of the closeness of family, but validates its PG-13 rating through sexual innuendo and some mild language.