Darling Companion

A lost dog exposes the hitherto ignored cracks in the comfortable marriage of a self-absorbed surgeon (Kevin Kline) and his over-emotional wife (Diane Keaton); before the long weekend is over, the mini-crisis embroils the doctor’s sister (Dianne Wiest), her working-class boyfriend (Richard Jenkins) her son (Mark Duplass) and a gypsy psychic (Ayelet Zurer). Written by director Lawrence Kasdan and his wife Meg, the picture has the feel of a gentle Woody Allen movie (an impression underlined by the presence of Keaton and Wiest). Second-rank Allen, to be sure—we keep waiting for things to get really good, but the movie never digs as deep as it leads us to believe it’s going to. It starts out pretty good and stays that way to the end, meandering aimlessly but amiably, the cast personable and professional.