Perhaps I've seen too many rom-coms for too many years, but my threshold for sustained engagement has become higher and harder to cross. That's why my praise for this one may mean more than from younger, more impressionable viewers.
As always, the right casting is essential for a grabber. Some couples just don't click on-screen; others are picked for box office draw, making them too attractive to be credible or relatable in their situations du jour. This offering from writer/director Natalie Krinsky is enhanced by a lower budget and the casting of young men and women who are appealing, without being too high on the eye-candy scale to detract from the desired reflection of reality. The central character played by Geraldine Viswanathan has a perfect blend of looks, intelligence, insecurities and vulnerability to sell her relationships with men, gal pals and career fluctuations. We like her; we really like her.
Next comes the daunting task of a screenplay. The premise of a depressed "dumpee" setting up a gallery displaying memorabilia from lamented lost loves is fresh and clever. In this genre, we almost always know who will, or at least should, wind up together loooong before the couple(s) figure things out, eliminating suspense from the equation. Here's where many lose my empathy. By the time most couples go through more mistakes and misunderstandings than seem reasonable (I hope Judd Apatow, the best comedy writer with the worst sense of running time, sees this), I no longer care whether they reach that "aha" moment. Actually, I often hope they don't, rather than have them breed another generation of similarly clueless progeny. Krinsky juggles enough players and subplots to make the inevitable honey glaze of helpful people and perceptions seem relatively suitable. And it turns out to be heartwarming without cloying. That's another delicate balance many can't pull off. Overall, it surpassed my moderate expectations by a wide margin.
