This has been on at Cannes book. For their publicity they run a series of dating parties. At which the hero and the heroine meet and take an instant dislike to each other, but their paths keep crossing...and you can get the rest of the picture. Helen Grace has written a witty and very funny script. There's plenty of fresh ideas in this and its as sparkling as champagne on a summers day. Michael Brandon, who is best known for 'Demsey and Makepeace' makes a welcome return as the tricks dating guru accompanied by the glamorous Leigh Zimmermann who has been in West End musicals for a few years. Together they are the center of the films plots and intrigues and have a great on screen chemistry as they manipulate their dating hopefuls to push together a relationship so they can sell more books. Another thing I enjoyed about this firm was Ed Byrne's romantic hero. He's a stand-up comic and produces the right kind of panic, frustration and desperation of someone who is flailing in love with someone who doesn't care for him or being repeatedly turned down. This will sell more tickets when people realize he is the voice of the Big Brother adverts.
A real surprise was the seeing the stage actor Stephen Armourae in this. He's usually cast as a Samurai General, terrorist, Titus Andronicus or someone else who kills people. But he's also in another romantic comedy playing an art critic. Maybe its his lines here that are the reason: he's a parapsychologist and physicist as well which fits with them. He appears in one scene with the glamor model Jodie Marsh in her first feature. Wonder what they would have to talk about. Maybe she shares his interest in art, design and journalism. He works in those fields too. Its a nice ironic twist, the idea that Jodie Marsh would have to attend a dating agency. Lucy Punch plays Melanie the romantic heroine. she has been applauded for previous comedy roles and her she takes on the More challenging cold, aloof character that simultaneously has to be comic and sympathetic and does it well. The friction between her and Ed Byrnes is the story around which the film revolves. The film glides along like a modern comedy though there are some touches from the 1970s in the family and the closing scenes of th film that add to its charm. This is a a perfect film for a summers day.
