Most of the reviews here seem to be one extreme or the other – either that it was amazingly good, or awfully bad. I'd have to say it falls somewhere in the middle. I will agree, however, that the term "romantic comedy" is a bit liberally applied as it more closely follows the conventions of a sex comedy.
Not being from the UK, I had no idea who most of the actors were (save for Richard Grant and Colin Salmon whom I've seen here and there), so I didn't walk into this with any preconceived notions of their reputations or general bodies of work. That may have helped, since a couple of the reviewers seem disappointed at the level of screen time from the supporting cast. I wanted to watch the film purely based on the vibe of the trailer, which reminded me a lot of the teen comedies that exploded out of the late 90s/early 2000s.
James (Simon Phillips) is your run-of-the-mill "loser" whose best friend Ian (Richard Grant) commits suicide after succumbing to the depression of his status as a "dateless wonder." In a delayed video message, Ian pleads for James not to end up like him. Motivated by this, James enlists the tutelage of local pick-up artist Ampersand (Craig Conway) to teach him the elusive skills of attracting and seducing women. James has a few setbacks using Ampersand's techniques – which rely on trickery, shameless schmoozing, and insults – but he eventually manages to succeed in catching the attention of his gorgeous high school crush, Hannah (Gemma Atkinson). Things go awry when his friends challenge his new priorities, and James struggles to reconcile between being himself or changing his life to keep the girl of his dreams.
So there you have it: your standard tale of morality served on a platter of comedy. The film's message is simple: be yourself, because anything else is not worth it. It also takes a humorous look at the "douchebags get all the girls" angle and cautiously points out that you get what you give. As to whether or not the material is funny, that is entirely subjective. Personally, I found myself laughing out loud on a few occasions at the hopelessly awkward social interactions. The movie itself is presented as a narrative recounted by James in a visit to a psychologist (Colin Salmon), who doubles as both an audience surrogate by unprofessionally voicing his third-party commentary on the story and as an added source of humor for cutaway bits.
As far as the characters, you've got your usual fare: the stereotypical geek, the nerdy-but-attractive female friend, the hot crush that every guy wants, and the well-intentioned purveyor of misguided wisdom. Phillips and Simon play their parts as caricatures – which many forget is a completely normal convention of funny genres – whilst Stephanie Leonidas (best friend Patch) hits it perfectly in the middle and Atkinson (purposefully) alternates between subdued and caricature. The over-exaggeration of James and Ampersand is most certainly intentional, and if you don't understand why, then you don't understand the basic principles of comedy characterization. When comparing, it's easy to dismiss one bunch as too hammy and the other bunch as too flat, but it's simply the large contrast in energy level that gives it that appearance. Hannah is the perfect example of that concept as she goes from one to the other to best display both aspects of her as a person. No, they don't give award-winning performances, but they're not blocks of wood on screen, either.
***SPOILER***
The romantic twist ending wasn't exactly a surprise, but then again, the "Hot Crush" only ever comes in two flavors. In both scenarios, she is always objectified and of a high social standing, but she is either a.) secretly unhappy with her life, or b.) secretly a total bitch. If she's not one then she's always the other. There was a red flag in just about every single one of Hannah's scenes, but they did at least mix in a few Type A behaviors to try and throw you off. However, hooking up with Patch dances dangerously between being contrived and being foreshadowed. She remembers James doesn't like cheese, but then casually tries to hook him up with her single friend. James almost confesses to deeper feelings towards the very end, but never displayed anything more than platonic friendship up until that point.
***END SPOILER***
Is the plot cliché? Absolutely. Does it come complete with stock characters? Absolutely. I went into the movie expecting a certain kind of dynamic, and that's exactly what I got. At nearly two hours in run time they had plenty of room to polish the script a little more, but I was entertained, and that is always what I want to walk away with when watching these kinds of genres. If you like this type of movie, give it a try, and if not, you are better off on some other page.
