A Lot Like Love (2005, DVD)

A Lot Like Love is a romantic comedy about two young people who keeping getting together at the worst times and so their romance never gets a chance to blossom. It stars Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet and is directed by Nigel Cole, who previously helmed Calendar Girls.

This movie takes place over a nine year period and opens in the mid-1990's at an airport. Amanda Peet's character is boarding a plane after a fight with her soon to be ex-boyfriend. During her argument with the boyfriend, a young man played by Ashton Kutcher notices her and stops to watch. A few minutes later, the two find themselves stealing glances at each other in the airport lobby. Once they get on the plane, Kutcher goes to the back to wash a spilled drink out of his shirt when Peet jumps into the bathroom with him and they join the mile high club. When the plane lands, Kutcher tries to get some more information out of her, such as a name and telephone number, but instead she tells him, "Stop, or you'll ruin it," and leaves.

The rest of the movie goes ahead a couple of years at a time as the two of them get together again and again, but it is always a bad time for one of them. In one instance, Kutcher just got out of a serious relationship and is rebounding too much. In another, Peet just met someone new and a relationship is growing there. It is obvious that they have some connection between them, but time and distance keep getting in the way. There moments together are always pure joy, but the real test of their potential love has not yet taken place. As they both get older and go through some life changes, the story comes to a fairly predictable end.

Ashton Kutcher is slowly growing on me. I have seen most of his movies and he has done some pretty good work even though none of it has been very serious roles. His goofiness is restrained in this movie, and only used a few times when it works for the scene. Amanda Peet is perfect for this role because she has a kind of hard but pretty face that fits the attitude of her character. Her and Kutcher have a pretty good on-screen chemistry together, so it makes their hit and miss romance even more believable because you want it to work from the start.

I liked this movie and how it ended, but I think it took too long getting there. Right from the beginning, you can see the chemistry and the connection between these two people. It doesn't make sense why their romance didn't blossom earlier, other than to spur the movie along. I found myself getting a little aggravated at the number of times they'd get together, then separate, then get together again. I was squirming in my chair and thinking they should just get on with it already.

As romantic comedies go, this one was particularly original in that it wasn't as sappy as most movies like this. It strings you along just enough so that you actually want them to get together and are frustrated when it doesn't seem to be working out. When a movie makes an emotional connection like that, it is a very good thing.