The movie is strung with many annoying narrative tchotchkes. Peter and Lizzie meet cute in a hotel when he is accidentally given the keys to her suite and catches her in the shower. Lizzie and her father have a noisy little dog that threatens to give away a secret midnight rendezvous. A comet appears just in time to underline a passionate kiss, then vanishes as soon as the lovers have their first fight. A worshipful ball boy keeps reappearing -- Peter's good luck omen.
Peter and Lizzie are the latest screen couple spun off from a familiar romantic template: the soft Brit male heartthrob and the hard female American go-getter. Think Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts in Notting Hill, and real-life couples like Guy Ritchie and Madonna, and Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow. Bettany's thoughtful, open-hearted Peter makes American sports heroes with their Rambo-style machismo look like brass-knuckled babies. He is generous enough to go after a woman who has more drive without being frightened off. It all has a vague historical subtext. Sure, the Brits are more civilized, but the Americans are the winners. It's been that way since 1776.
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