Melts The Heart While NOT Insulting The Brain.

A well-realized romantic comedy is sort of like a combination of a Camry and a Mustang. The form romantic comedy has traditionally taken, future lovers meet, briefly interact, are for various reasons kept separate for 90 minutes of film time, then are romantically reunited for a big last kiss or a wedding or, in Shakespeare's case, four or five weddings and lots of last kisses.

But, we romantic comedy fans remember not just the traditional formula, but those bits of flare, flashes, and pizzaz. Tracy/Hepburn chemistry, for example, in Adam's Rib. Cary Grant's smooth cool veneer rapidly becoming crimped and uncomfortable when someone he secretly loves casually tells him about a dinner date with an amorous client. Julia Roberts chain smoking and manipulating -- and Cameron Diaz matching her wonderfully step for sneaky step.

Serendipity is reliable formula with enough flash and spark to ignite a movie screen, a fireplace, a couple of hearts. Isn't that all we want? John Cusack plays Lloyd Dobler, whoops, I mean Jonathan Traeger, a producer for ESPN, opposite Kate Beckinsale's Sara Thomas. They meet cute over a pair of leather gloves at Bloomingdales in New York City. As Jonathan is about to give them to Sara, a third party (played uncredited by romantic comedy screenwriter extraordinaire Buck Henry) makes a grab. The meet cute has never been about innovation in form. At least not since the first meet cute, which was probably Adam and Eve (why mess with what works already?), but about the sparks and the memorable dialogue that ensue. This one has sparks and dialogue to spare.

The elements that keep them apart for the next 80 minutes naturally include two fiances. The role of the other man/woman in most romantic comedies is often simply just another stepping stone given no greater value than the kid who presses every button on the elevator (you'll have to see the movie to know what I'm talking about.). Not much is really revealed about Traeger's fiance, except that her mom is a dead-look-a-like for Marion Ross, aka Mrs. Cunningham from Happy Days.

And I did detect the last name Winkler in the co-producer credits, so I have to wonder if the eternally cool Fonz had something to do with this. John Corbett, however, as musician Lars Hammond is memorable for his predilections for Jethro Tull meets a snake charmer music ("let's hope it's just a phase", Molly Shannon's character says). His character is decent, sweet and sincere enough. But he never really makes a magic connection with Sara, possibly because of his horrendous tastes.

I sympathize. I could just never fall in love with anyone who, say, doesn't love and know each song of "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs" by Derek and The Dominoes Featuring Eric Clapton. Who could fall in love with anyone who doesn't love this seminal recording? It's just impossible. A hallmark of recent John Cusack romantic comedies, including High Fidelity, is that the Other Guy has awful tastes in world music.

The other common element most romantic comedies share is what can be called the "facilitator" role. In this movie there are a few, but the best role here belongs to Traeger's best friend Dean Kansky, played by Jeremy Piven. Usually such roles are kind of one-sidedly comic or, in the '90s case "refreshingly gay" (which stopped being refreshing the billionth time around, which occurred on January 1st 1990 and one day. Alert to Will and Grace fans. STOP PRETENDING! Exception: Rupert Everett in the aforereferenced My Best Friend's Wedding). Piven, not like Puck, derives a healthy inspiration from his best friend's dogged "Agatha Christie-like" attempts to elicit information about the real girl of his dreams -- and how he plays his role as best man when he tells Traeger of his own breakup with his girlfriend -- and how Traeger's journey actually inspired him to do it is a mesmerizing and heartening performance all around.

This film succeeds on all levels. Director Peter Chelsom's images of beauty and angels in the snow, though time tested and nothing original, nevertheless contain an exuberant zing and sweetness -- a rightness with Cassiopeia and the universe if you will.

Or, as Sara asks near the end "when did you become such a romantic?"

If I were answering, as someone who just watched this great film, I'd say "I guess right about now."