A Lot Like Love: Movie & DVD Review (2005)

(Originally published 2005)

A lot like something I can't print here.

Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet are Oliver and Emily, two empty, presumably adorable twentysomethings who enjoy a rambunctious restroom quickie on a flight from Los Angeles to New York. Cramped quarters, but they’re young and they’re limber, so they make a go of it.

What launches from this is a seven-year relationship fraught with a string of misunderstandings designed to keep them apart.

If only it had.

Divided into chapters, the film is neither fresh nor spontaneous, though plenty about it is tedious and annoying. With Oliver consumed in his online diaper business (groan) and Emily bedding more losers than you’d find in a season’s worth of "Elimidate," this forced take on "When Harry Met Sally" is pointless.

From its first frame, it’s moving toward one ending, the likes of which is so clear to the viewer, the ability to read tea leaves isn’t exactly necessary to know how it will turn out.

Grade: D