It lost me when I realised the blind-daters (who were supposed to have prepared themselves for the perfect match) hadn't bothered to check out how the other one looked! In a modern romcom (which this is supposed to be) it is so easy to meet and check out the other person online. "Blind dates" are probably no longer possible! Of course you're not supposed to think about what's going on here too much.

The Three Acts: The initial tableaux: Single 34 year old Nancy goes to a loud themed mixer hosted by a hotel at the insistence of her married sister Elaine. It's another failure. Nancy heads via train to an anniversary party at the house of their parents, Fran and Bert. Nancy sits down and talks to Elaine. Across from her is Jessica, who had listened to her telephone conversation with Elaine. Jessica lends Nancy a self-help book meant to help her meet her true match. The train stops; Jessica gets off without taking the book. When Nancy wakes up, she tries to find Jessica to return the book, but meets Jack instead. (Jessica buys another copy; she had left her old copy on purpose, but Nancy does not know that.)Jack thinks Nancy is his blind date since she has the book. Jack has a pleasant manner, and does a Hannibal Lecter impression. Partly because Lecter is one of Nancy's favourite movie characters, she decides to let Jack keep thinking she's his date. Jessica shows up with her new copy of the book a good 90 seconds too late.Delineation of conflicts: First, there is the lie that started their relationship. Jack and Nancy head into an evening together under false impressions. Nancy has several opportunities in their conversation to correct the misapprehension, but fails to do so.During the date, they encounter some baggage from each side. There is Jack's ex, or soon to be ex, Hilary, whom they meet with Hilary's new significant other. Then there is Sean, whom Nancy has known for many years but does not remember. Unfortunately for Nancy, Sean's a bit of a stalker.Jack is a bit battle weary from the recently failed marriage. Nancy is in a negativity phase since she has had so many disappointments in a row.Then there is the party with Fran and Bert. Elaine and Fran want Nancy to write something to commemorate the 40 years of wedded bliss. When might that happen during this busy day?Resolution: Chemistry.

Romantic comedy about Nancy (Lake Bell), who on the spur of the moment usurps a blind date with Jack (Simon Pegg), that strikes a good balance between sweetness and cynicism. This is about as formulaic as they come -- if you don't know from the moment that Nancy and Jack meet how they will end up, you probably have never seen a movie before -- and if you like the formula, you'll probably like this rendering of it. There aren't necessarily what I would call surprises in store over the course of the film, but there are plenty of unexpectedly clever bits thrown into the mix to keep its predictability from becoming boring. For example, Nancy and Jack bond over, among other things, love of the movie version of "The Silence of the Lambs," which would seem to be an unusual choice, but it sets-up a great plot callback late in the film that had me in stitches.Several of the characters, especially Nancy and her lecherous school stalker Sean (Rory Kinnear), are just this side of being too obnoxious to want to spend much time with. Jack comes off a little better, not that he doesn't have his flaws of course, perhaps in part because it is impossible for Simon Pegg to be too obnoxious. Fans of the TV show "Catastrophe" might be surprised to see Sharon Horgan play a relatively benign character (Nancy's sister) who by comparison to others in the story is no where near as obnoxious as she can be. I never really believed that Nancy was supposed to be a journalist with literary pretensions, which seems like an oddly specific profession to hang on a character when the film spends no time exploring it. Jack's more nebulous "online marketing manager" strikes a better tone for a film that is set over the course of a long date. The film does a much better job of making London into a romantic city in which everyone is prosperous and healthy and needs only a grand romantic gesture to have a happy life. If you can swallow that, this film is for you.

Well, this movie was unexpected! When we decided to watch it, I was kind of in the middle, as British humour is not easy for a non-native to fully grasp. And it was true that in times within the movie, I did find myself wondering about some of the things being said. Other than that, this was a brilliant, funny but also really deep at moments, movie that I really liked. Dealing with issues such as the estrangement of people in urban areas, failed marriages, etc, it was nice to watch. A situation and the characters that may as well be true in many cases, even with people we know. Although in some cases it bordered with these silly "Love-Actually" type of movies (which I also pleasantly watch), it remains quite serious and pragmatic. I really liked the creepy high-school lover that could not stop obsessing about her... Amazing acting altogether!