With Hugh Dancy's star on the rise, inquires Kimberly Gadette, will this film help or hinder his career?

A film that honestly looks at a couple's relationship, with only one of them afflicted with Asperger's Syndrome ("AS"), is a great idea. Adam is not that film. And though this movie advertises itself as an "unconventional romantic comedy" … it's much more akin to fantasy.

Filmmaker-producer Judd Apatow has been criticized for his oeuvre of movies in which less-than-desirable males manage to win the hottest girl in the workplace/bar/town. Yet these plots seem like indisputable fact next to the story of Adam, in which the stunningly beautiful, stunningly rich, stunningly charming Beth (Rose Byrne) finds herself considering a relationship with a guy whose idea of a hot date is escorting his gal into Central Park at midnight to wait for a stray raccoon who might wander out from the underbrush. That is, unless an axe murderer pops out first.

Even if Adam (Hugh Dancy) can barely make eye contact and is incapable of expressing a resonant emotional response, darn it, he's nice. And he doesn't lie. Not to say that he's uncomplicated: people afflicted with the developmental disorder of AS (approximately 1 in 5,000) are often off-the-charts intelligent. However, though AS is considered a high-functioning form of autism, socially-acceptable behavior is foreign to "Aspies." Rather than experienced, the behavior is merely mirrored.

Beth's father (Peter Gallagher) can't believe that of all the male population packed into the East Coast, his daughter's interested in Adam. We can't believe it either. Writer/director Max Mayer needed to explain Beth's attraction with a more substantive reason other than a recent breakup. Perhaps if she had severe emotional holes in her psyche, or extreme control issues, or wanted to upset her parents, anything. But asking us to swallow a story about a perfect girl who falls for her AS neighbor on the second floor because … why? He's geographically desirable? Can't she try for a bit more inclusion such as, maybe, the dudes across the street? Note to Beth: there's an unmarried octogenarian janitor living in the basement. If Adam doesn't work out, you've got options.

We know even less about Adam. Though his father just passed, there's no nod to how he died, if Adam had to nurse him, if there were any rifts in the father-son relationship. Or how a man with a sizeable piece of real estate in one of the wealthiest parts of Manhattan leaves no trust fund to his only child, an adult son who's borderline functional in the world outside of his front stoop.

Mayer takes another misstep with an awkward subplot involving Beth's father who's under indictment for questionable business practices. Worse, Mayer has the mother (Amy Irving) mouthing an old-fashioned "stand-by-your-man" speech. When Beth reaches out for advice, concerned that Adam may be incapable of loving her, Mom espouses about how it's better to love than be loved. Which is fine if we're talking about injured animals or helpless children. But this theory of blind selflessness, preached to an audience of impressionable young women is, in this reviewer's opinion, downright irresponsible.

The actors struggle valiantly despite the film's shortcomings. Dancy gives us a bewildered, smitten man who tries to escape his illness' limitations as best as he can. Credit Bryne for infusing her role with a lighthearted sensibility, hinting that there may be a smart comedienne surfacing in the future. And it's a treat to see Gallagher and Irving, two strong pros, back up on the big screen.

No fantasy would be complete without the go-to soundtrack with its florid orchestration and soppy songs a-plenty. As Beth has to act as Adam's societal guide dog, instructing him on how he should react, the filmmakers turn to dopey ballads in order to steer us through plot points rife with the emotional complexity of Jell-O. Do we really need to hear sad pop strains to understand that because her father's in trouble, Beth may feel a tad glum?

Even when Beth sends a note to Adam, the on-screen lettering as plain as the noses on our collective faces, the filmmakers feel it necessary to add in a voiceover. Direction by: sledgehammer. And like any hammer, it feels so good when it stops.

Rating on a scale of 5 Manhattan love stories: 1.5

Release date: US: July 29, 2009 UK: August 7, 2009
Directed and Written by: Max Mayer
Cast: Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne, Peter Gallagher, Amy Irving, Frankie Faison
Rating: US = PG-13; UK = 12A
Running time: 99 minutes