(USA) We have a contender for this generation’s When Harry Met Sally. Thirty-something Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds, Smokin’ Aces) is in the process of a divorce when his 10-year old daughter, Maya (the ever charming Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine) returns from a sex-ed class in school, and interrogates him on how her parents met and fell in love. Will takes a reluctant trip down memory lane back to 1992 when he was a young, aspiring aide in the presidential elections. He recounts his romantic histories, framing them as bedtime stories, changing names so Maya has to guess who it is that her father finally married. Is it the wholesome college sweetheart Emily (Elizabeth Banks, Fred Claus), the quick-witted and efferverscent April (Isla Fisher, The Lookout) or the free-spirited but driven journalist Summer (Rachel Weisz, Constantine)?

In this journey of life and love, Maya learns that both are never simple or easy. Along the way, she helps Will understand that it’s never too late to turn back time and seek that one true love. Director Brooks injects a refreshingly mature quality into a fairly simple premise, taking it a notch above the run of the mill chick flicks and crude sexual farces that have been masquerading as rom-coms on our screens thus far.

The inventive script is a well-observed and novel direction towards telling the oldest story of two people falling in love. Throw in an attractive ensemble of talented, unsung actors interacting with amazing chemistry, and the result is a surprisingly honest, nostalgic and bittersweet effort that recognizes the realities of disappointment, disillusionment, divorce and hard-won reconciliation. Will it be on your 10 Best list by the end of ‘08? Maybe. Will you walk out of the cinema feeling fuzzy and believing in happily-ever-after? Definitely.