After moderate successes with the whimsical Calendar Girls and Saving Grace, Brit director Nigel Cole has pointed his lens west for this When Harry Met Sally-esque tale of friendship and love. Sadly, the assurance he showed back home is less obvious in this uneven romance, let down by shallow characterisation and a desire to fit too much incident into what could've been an engagingly simple story.
On the evidence of both this and last month's lacklustre Guess Who, Ashton Kutcher is going to great lengths to lose the doofus image that served him so well in That '70s Show and Dude, Where's My Car?. This is understandable, yet his performance here is so restrained, it's difficult to engage with Oliver, or even detect much chemistry between him and his apparent love, Emily (Peet), crucial given the movie hangs on our belief that these two are fated to be together; although destiny has little work to do with a pair so proactive about hooking up from Day One, further reducing any 'will they, won't they' frisson.
Peet works hard with the slight material and there are some cutely kooky moments. Sadly, by its end, the movie has become as contrived as the 'chance' meetings of its uneasy central couple.