Zeus and Roxanne

A dog, a dolphin, and Steve Guttenberg star in this inter-species romance. Of course, it's Zeus the dog and Roxanne the dolphin who strike sparks, though any other combo would have proved more fun. Like a canine stalker, Zeus sees a picture of Roxanne and goes to pathological lengths to extend a paw of introduction. He stows away on a boat belonging to marine biologist Kathleen Quinlan, who becomes convinced the animals' rapport is a breakthrough. In reality, Zeus whines and cocks his head; Roxanne chirps and flaps her flippers. Not exactly a miracle of science. But the surf-and-turf friendship attracts trouble, as a ruthless scientist (Arnold Vosloo) tries to sabotage the research.

The creatures are suitably cute with their snout-to-bottlenose nuzzling and repertoire of tricks. But they aren't the only mammals bonding. Much of the story focuses on a soppy single-parent romance between Quinlan and Guttenberg as the beefcake pater pectoralis of Zeus's young owner (Miko Hughes). Consequently, the plodding film doesn't offer a lot of value for kids, except to say that fishing nets are bad and some dads can swim in tight jeans. Leave it to the dominant species to spoil the show. At the Copley Place and the Fresh Pond and in the suburbs.

-- Alicia Potter