Oliver (Ashton Kutcher) met Emily (Amanda Peet) in an aeroplane toilet shortly after she was dumped by her boyfriend. This first date sets off sparks that are soon extinguished by Oliver’s need to get his ducks in a row before he gets serious with a girl. Several years pass and the unlikely couple continue to bump into one other. Unfortunately, neither of them ever have their ducks lined up at the right time, and their recurring sparks continue to fizzle. Will they ever fall in love? Well it doesn’t take an ornithologist to work out the answer.

Despite solid direction from Britain’s Nigel Cole (Saving Grace), this is a Hollywood film: guys get girls. And no, that wasn’t a spoiler. This is a Hollywood film from that rich vein of chick-flicks whose purpose is not to challenge but tick boxes while letting nubile leads rake in the punters. To be fair, A Lot Like Love does start promisingly. Kutcher and Peet are an attractive couple given characters that resemble people who are given dialogue in conversational (as opposed to clichéd) English, at least most of the time. The problem is that scriptwriter Charles Patrick Lynch doesn’t take them very far at all.

This is the cinematic equivalent of soufflé baked in a cold oven. All the ingredients are there, the dish looks tasty and just when you’re ready to eat - nothing. For romantic comedy, A Lot Like Love is a plain dish that is neither especially romantic nor particularly funny.

// COLIN FRASER