The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

This is quite possibly the worst movie I have ever seen. The best actors are the dogs, the script sounds worse than a yapping terrier and the plot needs to be scooped up and tossed into a plastic baggie. Although it had a promising start, Dog Lover's Symphony quickly took a turn for the worse. The romance between ex-convict and dog trainer is so hackneyed and the "acting" is so devoid of emotion--of anything, really--that this movie is bound to bore humans and dogs alike. Also, this "family" movie does not have any children in it whatsoever. The story revolves around a lackluster, PG-rated romance between two adults, which has a cheesy, melodramatic ending that merely seals this movie's fate. Do not watch.

Jerry (Jesse Bernstein) is a troubled young man who has become involved with gang activity. But, although he is headed in the wrong direction, a caring parole officer, Tom (Maxwell Caulfield) sees some good hiding in his interior. He arranges for Jerry to train dogs with his beautiful daughter, Susan (Alaina Kalanj) as part of his parole requirements. At first, Jerry is most reluctant and his commitment is tenuous. However, due to the extreme kindness of Tom and Susan, he begins to turn his life around. In fact, there may be a mutual attraction between Jerry and Susan, if only she weren't nearly engaged to that stuffed-shirt, go-getter John (Sean Foley). Will Jerry become a model citizen and win Susan's heart, too? This is a nice film with plenty of feel-good moments, except for the inane ending. What is that, you ask? I'm not telling. Caulfield and Bernstein give nice performances, although Bernstein is not my idea of a genuine leading man. But, it is Kalanj that steals the film. She is utterly beautiful and has a zesty, natural acting ability that reminds the viewer of Marisa Tomei. The movie world can only hope to see much more of her. Then, too, although she dresses down to train dogs, her "dress-up" costumes are of the knock-out variety. The rest of the costuming is acceptable and the scenery is pleasant, too. Best of all, the dogs in the film are delightful. If you love animals and/or romantic dramas, try this one on for size. I think you will like it but the end will definitely leave you shaking your head.

This was one of the worst movies I have ever seen. The makers of this film try to drill their message about altruism into one's head repeatedly. The acting was poor, the editing was poor, and above all the writing was sub-standard. I have seen grade B horror movies that were more intelligently made. At first I thought the message was going to be subtle, then they kept repeating what they had to say over and over. There is a scene at the end where the dead fiancée magically comes back to the church for his wedding. I still do not know why anyone would desire to have a wedding when their fiancée was dead. The first half of the movie was fairly standard, just bad acting, then after the movie appeared to be over a few times they kept extending the storyline in preposterous ways. I would advise all to avoid this film. It is not even bad enough to be humorous.

This could have become a funny and good movie, but it flips totally out repeatedly towards the end until you get angry with the filmmakers for believing that audiences consist of complete morons. It cannot even serve as a wet ladies' weeper. It cannot be called a children's movie because there are no children in the cast. It's probably called a "family movie" because there is no nakedness or language abusive to children, but the plot is certainly abusive to the intellect of grown-ups. The simplified portrait of the drug buddies and their miraculous turn-around is just a start. Or perhaps one cannot expect more from a story told by a dog...