How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog (2000)

I had heard of this oddly-named movie but had never previously come across it; I believe it premiered on US cable TV and I doubt whether it had any sort of release in the UK, although it is highly-rated on the IMDb and seems to have its share of fans.  What can I tell you?  It was quirky and sharply written without necessarily being some kind of lost gem.  This could be because I have never warmed to Kenneth Branagh who took the lead, playing an insomniac, chain-smoking playwright in L.A. whose career has hit a sticky patch nor to the actress playing his wife -- Robin Wright Penn, who has lost her "Princess Bride" glow and now only takes suitable roles for the wife of America's purported 'greatest actor of his generation'.  The main thrust of the story was their befriending the daughter of their new next-door neighbor (not the one with a dog) who had slight cerebral palsy and Branagh, previously a child-hater, and Penn, a wannabe mother, helping her to become a normal child -- much to her mother's horror.  There was also a subplot concerning a celebrity stalker who used the same name as Branagh's character, played by Jared Harris -- son of the late Richard -- and some nice small roles for Lynn Redgrave and Peter Riegert (a fave of mine).  The somewhat fractured composition of the film, moving in and out of the time frame (some scenes were sequential and some just the same bit of business with interruptions) didn't help much but added to the overall quirkiness.  In short, all a bit like the proverbial parson's egg.