'A Lot Like Love' is a lot like other so-so romantic comedies

By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service

A LOT LIKE LOVE (PG-13) Two Stars (Fair) The umpteenth version of the tale in which old friends finally realize they're in love after putting filmgoers through nearly two hours of hopefully amusing romantic ups and downs. Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet co-star for director Nigel Cole. Touchstone, 107 minutes.

It's the umpteenth version of the tale in which old friends finally realize they're in love, after putting filmgoers through nearly two hours of hopefully amusing romantic ups and downs. ("When Harry Met Sally" is the cream of the crop; this is 2 percent milk.)

Oliver (Kutcher) and Emily (Peet) meet "cute" (albeit a bit sleazily) on a flight from California to New York. Oliver goes into the airplane lavatory, only to be followed by a complete stranger (Emily) who immediately inducts him in the mile-high club. Oliver tries to give her his name, but she insists that ruins the moment.

Then, in a coincidence one only finds in movies, they meet the next day on the streets of Manhattan and strike up a playful friendship. The film spotlights other moments over the next seven years when they either run into each other accidentally or look each other up. It's clear they're meant for each other, but it seems they each have to try alternatives before coming to the same conclusion.

Laughs and romantic sparks are found but not in abundance. Each actor comports himself with reasonable ease, but the chemistry isn't especially explosive. English director Nigel Cole fared better with 2003's "Calendar Girls." (Then again, the creation of a nudie calendar by small-town English matrons admittedly has a can't-miss quality.)

Rated PG-13, profanity, and innuendo.