I know movies involving relationships and animals have been made over and over again, but I thought maybe this one would approach it in a different way. In fact, it does, but somehow it never engages in a interesting story. Acting isn't strong enough to make you feel interested for the characters-- or maybe the story is just too normal to warm you up. This picture is probably much inspired in 2005's "Just Friends", with similar situations and characters. I followed this movie for 40 minutes, but I can say it NEVER engaged me; actually, after those minutes I left the movie running and just felt asleep, which is something I hardly do. That's it, "Heavy Petting" is pretty weak and sometimes lame, reasons why I don't recommend this one. See ya!

Romantic comedies tend to routine, teary pap for the average single woman (some people think lonely guys like porn films, which is far from true). Boy meets girl, boy and girl falls in love, old lover comes in, boy and girl break in, climatic event, boy and girl reunite. Pass, I say. But I can't say that about "Heavy Petting" a surface-silly, but down-to-earth opus that love can go to the dogs.Brooklyn coffee shop proprietor Charlie (Brendan Hines of the TV drama "Lie To Me") hangs with his equally single pal, jobless pack rat Raz (Kevin Sussman), looking for their Dream Girls while abhorring the lack of etiquette by dogs. Charlie gets lucky with party dame Daphne (sunny Malin Akerman of "Watchmen", "The Proposal" and "Couples Retreat") and the two have chemistry. Thing is, Daphne hasn't gotten over the passing of her dog, getting a bit blotto during one date. So, she save a mutt, a girl named "Babydoll", from getting put down. The canine becomes a wall to Charlie's libido, since he's no dog lover. . .at first. Surprisingly, Charlie falls for Babydoll, leaving Daphne out in the cold.Though his direction's standard, Marcel Sarmiento's script is likable and sweet. Hines, a younger version of Tom Everett Scott of the TV cop drama "Southland" is reliable and modest while Akerman, like in "Watchmen" (mainly Zack Snyder's cut), is an interesting surprise here, being more than a cute face. Sussman's a drip in the humor dept, but is nicely upstaged by a "dog whisper" jerk played by Mike Doyle (formerly of Law and Order: SVU), who shamelessly wants Daphne. The dog's cool, being more than a prop.Sure, there are gross-out moments, but the production's low-beat aura gives "Heavy Petting" a quirky charm. There's love in downtown Brooklyn…dog gone it!

Charlie (Brendan Hinds) runs a small coffee shop, where he also sells his personal blends of java. One day, he meets a beautiful woman, Daphne (Malin Akerman) and is very smitten. Courting her with a new coffee concoction, named for her, Charlie tries to attract her gaze in his direction. Unfortunately, Daphne has just buried her precious dog French Fry and is not really interested in romance at the moment. Nevertheless, non-animal lover Charlie is persistent, aided by his roommate's (Kevin Sussman) moral support. Making some progress, Charlie receives a happy phone call from Daphne, asking him over to her apartment. But, oh, no! There is a new dog, Baby Doll, who is now nicely ensconced in the young lady's apartment and she can't wait for Charlie and Baby to become friends. Fat chance, especially since Baby is a royal terror and/or pain in the neck! Can Charlie really get the girl here, despite the fact that his dislike for critters may surface at any moment? For romance lovers and animal lovers, this film will do very well for a future evening of viewing pleasure. The cast is quite nice, with the sunkissed Akerman very lovely and sweet, and with Hinds and Sussman displaying a deadpan wit and sarcasm that is most entertaining. Also, the darling little dog playing Baby Doll is very lively and comical, with an adorable independent streak. The setting in California is beautiful and the costumes, production values, script and direction are above average. The storyline goes a bit awry in the last third of the film but directs itself back to finish with gusto. If you are always combing the video stores or the Internet in search of new choices in the romcom genre, you should give this one a try. Although light as a cotton ball, it still has the required elements to charm its target crowd very nicely.

Heavy Petting isn't a great movie, but the writing is decent and this movie would have gotten higher reviews if they had cast Dane Cook or Nic Cage any other Hollywood "star". I thought it took the typical Romantic Comedy in a new direction. The other love interest/surgeon guy part was they typical overachieving asshole, but other than that the characters had dimension and likability. Rass and Charlie's dialog at the beginning was pretty funny and original. It got me on here to see what else the writer has done. That's when I noticed the low score. The dog is awesome if nothing else.I gave it a 6, comparing it to the garbage that gets 6's it is insane that this has such a low score.