Rating this as what it is-- a feel-good romantic dramedy --it's great, because it does just that: it makes you feel good, and even has some decent mystery regarding the final outcome.

The pacing is excellent, it's funny, with a vibrant cast of characters that play off of one another very well. Kevin Kline was a hoot as the lecherous dissident intellectual, and you end up feeling about everyone just how you're supposed to, but without it feeling forced. Abigail Breslin was more than capable of everything the script asked of her and plays beautifully opposite Reynolds as the delightful, innocent-yet-bright heart of the story. It really wouldn't have worked as well as it did without her acting ability and the pair's onscreen rapport.

I won't go into detail about the lead actresses because I don't trust myself not to give away the plot with subtle preferential praise. I'll be honest, I expected to be somewhat jaded in the end as the story brushed over value conflicts and the consequentiality of the characters' life choices with the world around them, but that didn't happen, and in the end I was pleasantly surprised how everyone ended up. Yes, the very end is a bit sappy, but that's _why_ we watch these films.

In the end, it's a refreshingly humane film-- not just human. There's never any mocking or nastiness coming from the script, which is not something that can usually be said about general appeal films like this.