We start off meeting Al (Prinze Jr) and Imogen (Stiles) in the future and we have nothing but flashbacks into the past as the pieces of the story fit together.  They meet, they fall in love, everything is perfect.  Then things change, they drift apart, Imogen moves away and both succumb to depression.  What happens next?  Provided you have a double-digit IQ, you’ll know.

These characters are nothing but cardboard cutouts.  They have no “human” qualities and are nothing but rich, spoilt brats.  Prinze Jr and Stiles are terrifyingly boring together and the entertainment (if any) comes from the supporting cast with notable entrances from Monk (Zak Orth) and Eddie (Shawn Hatosy).

One observation.  The couple first meet and share a romantic moment in Central Park.  Why are movies filled with so many clichés?  In Mission: Impossible 2, they continually showed the Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge and Centrepoint Tower.  Directors continually use the same backdrops and icons in every film these days and it is tiring.  To use another example, how many movies have you seen set in France that doesn’t feature at least one shot of the Eiffel Tower?

If all this were true, the first place I’d be heading to in New York would be Central Park.  Surely I’d meet my true love in the most romantic circumstance and maybe even see a couple of wild police chases.  Apparently, everything that happens in New York happens around Central Park.

The teen-romantic genre is in dire need of a facelift and I can’t believe that Miramax would attach their names to this project.  It was obviously designed as a cheap money-spinner but was a major disappointment at the U.S. box-office.  Finally, the public have spoken.