Leap Year (PG, 2010)

Armchair tourists will find some good in this bland romantic comedy thanks to breathtaking shots of the Emerald Isle that will surely have them fantasizing about a visit. But there’s not much else going for LEAP YEAR. How a stew featuring the appealing Adams, the magnetic Goode, and lyrical director Anand Tucker (who also helmed Hilary and Jackie and Shopgirl) fails to generate any sparks is beyond comprehension. (John Lithgow even makes a cameo.) What we get instead is an uninspired romcom that steps into the genre’s every well-worn tread.

Polar-opposite personalities, meet-cute setup, overwrought situations created expressly to showcase how both characters change as they get to know each other -- that’s all here. And must the other guy always seem like such a stooge? What’s missing is chemistry -- Adams and Goode seem more like siblings -- and inventive storytelling to keep us glued to our seats, even though we know that, yes, indeed, there will be a happily ever after.