"A Lot Like Love" is painful

I almost liked him better as the annoying dude on Punk'd, with his trucker hats and raglan t-shirts, playing pranks on Jessica Alba and Rachel Bilson. Why did he try to become a "serious actor" all of a sudden? And why did he drag Amanda Peet into it?

Director Nigel Cole's third foray into film (after "Saving Grace" in 2000 and unlikely hit "Calendar Girls" in 2003) is supposed to be a romantic comedy about two random people, Emily (Peet) and Oliver (Kutcher) who, over the course of seven years, serve as each other's rebound hookups and eventually discover that they are meant to be. After all, they "meet up" (wink wink) in an airplane bathroom going from L.A. to New York, and that is clearly the earmark of a relationship destined for eternity.First of all, the script is written by Colin Patrick Lynch. The actor. This is his first ever script-turned-movie. It shows. The general structure of the film is as follows: Oliver and Emily meet, have to depart. CG screen comes up that says "2 years later." Break up scene between Oliver and girlfriend or Emily and boyfriend progresses very quickly, without much emotion or explanation. Oliver/Emily calls Emily/Oliver. They meet, have fun times, fornicate, have to leave. Rinse and repeat. Until the happily-ever-after ending, that is.

The movie has nothing more to offerâ€"though it seems to try hard to convince you otherwise at timesâ€"than a blurry picture of Kutcher and Peet nude in the California moonlight. The movie drags on and on and the plot grates on your nerves. You begin to wish that Oliver had not told Emily his name at the baggage claim and had just left well enough alone in the airplane bathroom.

Also, what was that angry pregnant chick from the Britney Spears movie doing in this film?

In general, "A Lot Like Love" could have had a promising premise, maybe if the script had been seriously reworked and Kutcher had not been allowed to have anything to do with this. But credit should be given where credit is due: Kutcher put the "comedy" in romantic comedy, though he shouldn't have had anything to do with the romantic part in the first place. You should spare yourself the almost two hours that "A Lot Like Love" will rob from you, though. It will be two hours you will never get back.

"A Lot Like Love" (107 minutes) is rated PG-13 for sexual content, nudity and language.