Margaret Cho Grieves a Dead Dog in Drama

“All That We Love” is not, at first brush, a lovable film. Or perhaps the midlife crisis meets coming-of-age drama led by Margaret Cho is too lovable and therefore falls flat for its earnestness?

Cho stars as Emma, an empty nester who realizes just how alone she truly is after the death of her family dog Tanner. Emma is frustrated at work, faced with the return of her ex-husband Andy (Kenneth Choi), and forced to confront the fact that her daughter Maggie (Alice Lee) is relocating to Australia with her boyfriend (Devon Bostick). Basically, Emma is having a bad time. The only bright spot in Emma’s social circle, it seems, is her friendship with Stan (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), who is also dealing with a loss of his own…and a crisis reaction that includes purchasing a motorcycle.

As Stan comforts Emma, she begins to reevaluate the (non-canine) relationships in her life. But there is no enthusiasm on any front. During an early scene, Ferguson’s character Stan encourages what seems like both Emma and Cho in real life to “perk up,” adding, “We’re here. If we’re doing this, we’re doing this.” And that seems to set the tone for the making of this struggling feature that tries to capture the banality of midlife by mirroring its mundanity. Do we need to be reminded of the dullness of the day-to-day by a dull film? Not necessarily, but “All That We Love” gets points for trying — and with a tight running time that doesn’t outstay its…