Although screenwriter John R. Zaring doesn't have anything new to say about modern romance, this comedy's appealing stars make their emotional tribulations feel brand new. Tempted by a job offer in Seattle, Los Angeles advertising executive Alan (Frank Whaley) hates the thought of leaving good friends like Marissa (Annabeth Gish) and her husband, Paul (Alex Hyde-White). But a change of scene begins to look more appealing after his wife Janet (Dawn Eason) decides to dump him and he loses client Chad Harmon (Adam Baldwin), a high-profile baseball player. Alan doesn't realize that Chad has been dating with Janet, who's the sort of ambitious woman who uses marriage to "trade up." Awash in self-pity, Alan doesn't notice that Marissa has her own marital woes; she wants children and Paul, who doesn't, has started having an affair. Alan re-enters the dating scene, futilely pursuing a younger, bisexual woman who only thinks of Alan in avuncular terms. Meanwhile, Janet leaves Chad for a TV director. Unlike whining Alan, Marissa chooses to get on with a new life without her former spouse. Alan makes the move to Seattle, but L.A. keeps tugging at his heart — will he realize before it's too late that what he really misses is Marissa? What distinguishes this small-scale film from others thattackle the same situation is the way in which Zaring and director John Putch establish the friendship that blossoms into romance and allow Whaley and Gish to explore their characters. --Robert Pardi
