Darling Companion

The acting veterans Kline and Keaton play an older couple whose issues bubble to the surface when they lose their dog, Freeway, at their holiday home in the Rockies. Even enthusiastic animal lovers would have to admit this is a thin plot to say the least, and what follows is humour so light you’ll wonder if this was a real production or something the director Kasdan threw together while on holiday. Kline and Keaton are joined by the endlessly chipper co-stars Sam Shepard, Richard Jenkins and Dianne Wiest who draw you in to a dull conceit almost entirely due to their collective talent. It’s not enough to make a bad movie good, but it’s the movie’s biggest strength. You may feel like a curmudgeon for refusing its desperate advances, but this wandering paean to “first world problems” will delight only those who like their cinema gentle and without surprise.