Sure they're formulaic, but most genres are. If you are looking for a good movie to sit down and watch with your wife, then check this one out. One ingredient of a believable story is having well drawn characters, by which I mean the good guys are not all good and the bad guys are not all bad. Such is the case here.
Katherine Heigl is one of those actresses who doesn't look like a carbon copy of all the magazine models. She has that girl-next-door appeal and can flat out act. James Marsden's character lays on the cynicism so heavily that you know it's nothing but an attempt to hide the fact that he really has a heart of gold. And the tension as they both pull each other toward a center that they both need is perfect.
My only nits about romantic comedies (or I guess most secular movies) is that I find their worldview a bit bothersome. Premarital sex bothers me. You can relieve some of the sexual tension without putting your leads in bed together. Which is what I loved about 'Once'; the leads there never even kiss (but that was an indie film and not a romantic comedy). Even so, this movie is pretty tame by most standards. Sure there is some profanity, but not gratuitously so. And the movie ends on a really, really uplifting note.
Which is what I love about this genre's formula.
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