Any romantic comedy striving to be a 21st century When Harry Met Sally has its work cut out. For one thing, it seems increasingly hard for modern rom-coms to strike the right balance between humour and sentiment.

For another, this particular one stars Ashton Kutcher, an actor who has yet to prove he's not a completely charisma-free zone.

Oliver and Emily meet by chance aboard an aeroplane. After a rather unconvincing first encounter that has them joining the mile-high club, the two spend the next seven years missing their opportunities with each other. Poor communication, flaring tempers and plain old bad timing conspire to keep the pair apart.

Of course, we all know this mismatched couple are made for each other (even if they do seem completely incompatible). It would have saved a lot of time and trouble if only they were a bit quicker on the uptake.

The biggest problem with this is that, even by the standards of romantic comedies, it's awfully predictable.

It's safe to say you'll guess the end before you've finished queuing for your popcorn, but there just isn't enough spark to make the actual journey very interesting. Director Nigel Cole's last film was 2003's Calendar Girls. And although that had little in the way of surprises, the cast went about their business with such charm that it couldn't fail to be entertaining.

And that's the other problem here; the leads just aren't very convincing. As uptight internet geek Oliver, Kutcher starts out with his usual bumbling goofiness before letting his character slide quickly into all-out dullness. Amanda Peet is more endearing as the free-spirited Emily, but it's hard to believe there's any real connection between the two. And the fact that Emily's level of kookiness seems directly related to the amount of eye make-up she's wearing (she tones it down as the film goes on) just feels lazy.

Whereas the likes of When Harry Met Sally had a witty and insightful script to distract from the fact that we all knew how it would end, this simply does not. Instead there's just too much whiny soul-searching. And even though it's buoyed up by a pleasant enough soundtrack, the over-earnest sensitivity soon starts to grate.

While there's nothing particularly awful about it, there's just nothing remotely interesting either. And it's a shame, because the film does have potential for more. It occasionally delivers a smile or two, and there are moments when a genuine chemistry threatens to break out between the two leads. For instance, a fun scene in a scarily silent restaurant has them communicating wordlessly by pulling silly faces; they actually share a playful charm that works nicely in some sequences But then the film wrecks its more successful moments by throwing in scenes that have been clichs since the Middle Ages. Both a cat-strangling serenade from Kutcher and that all-important New Year's Eve kiss ensure this film has nothing new to offer anyone.

A few winning moments aside then, A Lot Like Love is a lot like any number of other anonymous romantic comedies. It's quite a struggle to remember any of it once you're through that exit door.