Dear Me

OCEAN PARK
Street: Nov. 4
Prebook: now
> Innocuous rom-com maintains brisk pace but delivers few laughs.

This too-cute-by-half romantic comedy tries hard—very hard—to score but just misses the net. Gardener-cum-advertising copywriter Samantha Billows (Sarah Thompson) copes with anxiety by describing all her feelings in a supposedly anonymous blog. When she is identified as the blogger, her entire life goes topsy-turvy. Dear Me’s chief problems are a thin script, gimmicky direction and overzealous trouping (especially by David DeLuise, playing one of Samantha’s bosses). It’s not a complete misfire by any means, but don’t expect more entertainment than you’d get from an average half-hour sitcom episode.

Shelf Talk: The principals are small-screen regulars (Thompson from 7th Heaven and Angel, DeLuise from Gilmore Girls, David O’Donnell from Las Vegas), and the film will appeal primarily to young women. But Dear Me is too mild to generate much excitement or enthusiastic word-of-mouth, so think of it as a fill-in rental title.