In Nora Ephron’s beloved comedy When Harry Met Sally, Billy Crystal states, “men and women cannot be friends, because the sex part always gets in the way.” Now, twenty years after Harry originated the idea, male/female friendships are being put to the test once again in Love, Rosie.

Rosie (Lily Collins) and Alex (Sam Claflin) have been best friends since they were children. It is not until a drunken kiss that Rosie’s eighteenth birthday party that Alex realizes that he is in love with his best friends. Though, when he goes to talk to Rosie the following day, she mentions that she wishes the events of her birthday never happened. Alex assumes that Rosie is implying that she wished they never kissed, so he decides to keep his feelings to himself and move on. Weeks later Rosie and Alex are going to their high school prom, though not with each other as they originally planned. That evening Rosie has a missing condom mishap, buts makes nothing of it. She later finds out that she is pregnant, causing her plans for her future to drastically change. Over a twelve-year period, Rosie and Alex cross paths, and their friendship is tested.

For the most part Love, Rosie plays out like many romantic comedies. It follows a series of clichés, that will ultimately make it forgettable, but the film does have many appealing qualities. Unlike other rom-coms targeted at teens, Love, Rosie has its fair share of adult content. This is largely due to censorship board in the UK being drastically different than the MPAA in the United States. The film is able to get away with casual swearing and frank discussions of sex, giving Love, Rosie a slice of realism.

Sam Claflin and Lily Collins are really great in the film. Their characters are fully developed, which makes it easier to forgive the tired choices that they make. Claflin has already proved himself to be strong actor in the Hunger Games films, so it is Collins whose performance is truly surprising.

As great as Claflin and Collins are, there performances cannot entirely carry a film. With a clichéd screenplay and tired direction, Love, Rosie will ultimately have trouble standing out from the rom-coms that both preceded and follow it.

[star v=3]