A Lot like Love

The director of ‘Calendar Girls’ and ‘Saving Grace’ mixes quirky characters and cosy sentiment with slightly less confidence in this US-set romcom. After free-spirited Emily (Amanda Peet) introduces smitten stranger Olly (Ashton Kutcher) to the Mile High Club, their paths cross several times over the next seven years. Gradually softening, Emily becomes increasingly persuaded of Olly’s puppy-dog charms, but fate continually intervenes to keep them apart. Will they discover that their occasional relationship is ‘a lot like love’?Like ‘When Harry Met Sally’ and ‘Sleepless in Seattle’, much of this film’s pleasure rests on the predictability of its ending, and it’s none the worse for it. It benefits too from likeable leads who show far more chemistry with each other than they have with previous co-stars. Rarely, however, is it laugh-out-loud funny, opting for cute physical repartee instead of sharp one-liners (shoving things up their noses to amuse each other, spending an entire dinner in silence for a bet). Sweet, but never hilarious. Characters such as Olly’s deaf brother recall ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’, and despite its setting, this shares that film’s playful, peculiarly British spirit. But there’s little drama to involve: competing relationships are merely hinted at and there’s no jeopardy or suspense, unless you somehow fail to see a traditional comedy twist coming. Still ‘A Lot Like Love’ tumbles along pleasantly enough, endowing its characters with relatable situations and likeable awkwardness.