"The Back-Up Plan" is a romantic comedy with a serious message about puppy mills (see the trailer)

Graphic courtesy Companions For Life

“The Back-Up Plan”, which opened locally on Friday, is a romantic comedy that’s funny, predictable, cute, and maybe a bit too graphic at times.  Of course there is the requisite happy ending, but there’s also a very important message that Dallas Animal Rescue Examiner reader’s will appreciate.

Jennifer Lopez stars as “Zoe”, the single owner of an upscale New York pet store who desperately wants to have a baby.  With no suitable mate in sight, Zoe undergoes artificial insemination in an attempt to have a child.  But as fate would have it, Zoe meets “Stan”, the possible man of her dreams, that very same day.   Romance blossoms, but Zoe soon finds out she’s pregnant and struggles with how and when to tell Stan. 

But the real scene stealer in this movie is “Nuts”, Zoe’s faithful companion, a special needs Boston Terrier who, as she explains patiently to Stan on their first date, is the reason she now owns the pet store.   Zoe bought Nuts from the store when he was a playful, adorable, weeks-old puppy.  Six months later, Nuts became seriously ill and permanently lost the use of his back legs.  Zoe soon learned that Nuts didn’t come from a local breeder as she’d been led to believe, but was instead the product of a “filthy puppy mill”.  She goes on to explain to Stan how she considered suing the pet store, but realized once the case was settled, the store would go right back to business as usual misleading the public about where those cute puppies in the store window came from.  So instead of suing, she took the money she’d have spent on legal fees, bought the store, and changed the name to “Hudson Mutts”.  Now they don’t sell puppies and kittens, preferring to work with the local humane society to showcase adoptable pets in need of homes, adding to the growing list of pet stores joining the fight to put puppy mills out of business permanently.

Nuts’ character was played by three different Boston Terriers, none of which was actually disabled, and the movie received the “No Animals Were Harmed “designation from American Humane.  American Humane senior safety representative Beth Langhorst told peoplepets.com  "The wheelchair isn't for real.  It was specially-made, and had a back panel platform for the dogs' back legs to rest on.  The dogs were taught to walk with the contraption before filming began, and rewarded with plenty of treats for their efforts.”

In conjunction with CBS Films, the studio behind "The Back-Up Plan," American Humane held adoption events in a dozen major markets last weekend, and the movie continues to raise awareness of the plight of homeless animals and the link between over-crowded, inhumane puppy mills and pet stores nationwide.   “The Back-Up Plan” is now playing in theaters across the Metroplex, including all five Dallas-area Studio Movie Grill locations, where last month 100,000 free tickets were given away to volunteers for animal shelters, rescue groups, and other non-profit organizations. 

You can see selected previews and find out more about Hudson Mutts on the movie website.  Tip: If you go to see “The Back-Up Plan”, try to catch site of the store’s anti-cruelty bumper sticker, the donation jar for the local humane society, and various adoption promotions, and don’t miss Zoe’s co-worker Daphne, wearing an adorable “Adopt Me” tshirt.

“The Back-Up Plan” is cute and predictable, but providing national exposure to the link between pet stores and puppy mills means it is anything but mundane.

For more info: See Hudson Mutts on "The Back-Up Plan" website, or buy the cute Adopt Me tshirt worn by Daphne in the movie.