A simple, clichéd romantic comedy offering little room for anticipation, Love and Other Disasters is best described as Love Actually meets The Devil Wears Prada meets Breakfast at Tiffany’s, minus the originality and amusement. A film whose love dramas progress at an extremely fast pace, it revolves around Emily ‘Jacks’ Jackson (Brittany Murphy), an uber trendy Vogue UK fashion assistant, zipping around the streets of London in her silver Mini as she persistently attempts to help her homosexual best friend Peter (Matthew Rhys) find ‘true love’.

Too focused on the love life of others, Jacks keeps the possibility of real love with Paolo (Santiago Cabrera) at a frustrating arm’s length as she continues to sleep with her naïve ex-boyfriend James (Elliot Cowan). Meanwhile Peter, a struggling scriptwriter, believes he has found the love of his life after a two-second encounter in a hotel lobby. That is a fantasy which, unsurprisingly, ends with Peter disappointed but finding ‘true love’ with the less physically attractive but more charming David (Will Keen). To complete the Will and Grace-like ensemble of characters, Talullah (Catherine Tate) is an hilarious melodramatic who has had her fair share of failed relationships – one with a married man and a phone relationship with an anonymous caller from her phone company.

This is an ideal film for Murphy fans or anyone interested in watching her run around in sexy lingerie for the majority of the running time. Murphy’s outfits and shots of her toned body are the highlights of her appearance in the movie. In contrast, the way she acts as a selfless friend and particularly the scene where she realises her love for Paolo seem unnatural and calculated. Although Cabrera fits the role of the sexy, down-to-earth Argentinean, the spark between him and Murphy does not ever ignite, making their romantic relationship implausible. Additionally, for those going to watch the movie with the intention of admiring Orlando Bloom or Gwyneth Paltrow, don’t bother – they make unnecessary cameos for a total of four minutes. Only Rhys and Tate seem natural and comfortable in their roles, successfully delivering their comedic dialogue and portraying quirky personalities.

Although the movie ridicules the conventions of romantic comedies, it is not as crafty and witty as I think director Alek Keshishian intended it to be. The predictability of the film, although deliberate, gets to a point where the characters and plot come across as merely dull rather than clever.

Emily Cheng