It’s been a while – three years since Meet The Fockers and counting – since Jay Roach stepped behind a camera and yelled ‘action!’ or whatever it is he likes to yell. And, even though he today optioned a romantic comedy named Off Strategy, that wait is likely to continue, for a little while at least.
For Roach will merely produce the rom-com, which apparently revolves around relationships from a male perspective, while Jon Poll will be the guy who steps behind the camera and yells ‘action!’. Or whatever it is he likes to yell.
Poll, a former editor, turned helmer with this year’s Charlie Bartlett, but perhaps crucially, he executive produced The 40 Year-Old Virgin, with which Off Strategy is said to share a bawdy sense of humour. Chortle!
Based on a hot novel – still at manuscript stage – by Rob Vlock, Off Strategy revolves around a Madison Avenue copywriter who falls for a woman. Only – and get this, it’s a real kicker – it turns out that she’s already a client, with whom he has an acrimonious phone relationship! ARGH!
Sorry, we meant to say ‘arf’ there.
So, it’s You’ve Got Mail, basically, only with cellphones and a few F-bombs thrown in. We can’t say that this is whetting our whistle too much, but it’s too early to make a judgement call. So much depends on the casting and, obviously, the ‘com’ part of the ‘rom-com’ equation. If the jokes are up to scratch, we can forgive the slightly hackneyed plot.