The business with the old lady and her lost-then-found dog does have a reason for being in the movie. It's always a hefty clue when a filmmaker places something at the beginning or end that it IS something especially significant. In this case it has to do with the entire meat of the story (not to be confused with its distractions) and is emphasized by its placement at BOTH the beginning AND the end of the movie. The tiny, seemingly random tale of the old woman and her dog thereby brackets everyone else's story. Why?The central question of the movie is, is simple comfortable domesticity with another being enough? Enough to give up your ideals, however out of whack they may be, enough to really confront your personal issues, enough to turn down the chance to explore intriguing new territories with someone else? Is it worth everything you go through and give up just to save a relationship that seems closer to mere companionship than to your earth-shattering romantic fantasies? One look at the old lady's face when she stares at her dog's empty dish, and then again when she sees him limping back to her, will give you the filmmaker's answer.

This is a bizarre movie, an intelligent and and fairly subtle story wrapped in a glossy Melrose Place setting. OK, so the title didn´t have much to do with the movie itself, maybe the intended message got a bit lost on the way; but overall it comes out as a solid and entertaining piece of film making.

The director did a good job on simple plot like Living in Oblivion. The Real Blond may be too complex for him too handle. The elements of the movie do not work together very well (at least as expected), resulting in the weakness of coherence between two main couples, and other small episodes.

Set in the world of struggling actors and models, this is an intelligent comedy with just a hint of seriousness. It's well-written with good performances by its large, mostly younger cast. The humor is for adults, so if you're looking for big belly-laughs and gross-out situations, you'll be disappointed. The number of characters threatened to be a bit too many but that's not a major problem. I found 'The Real Blonde' funnier and more entertaining than lots of comedies that get far more publicity and have much more box-office success.