Can You Keep A Secret?

THE rom-com seems to have gone out of favour. But if you want to get reacquainted with the formula, check out this adaption of Sophie Kinsella’s book.

In the worst traditions of the genre, it features few jokes, no believable characters and appears to have only the barest of connections to reality.

Alexandra Daddario is Emma – the klutzy, supposedly adorable twentysomething with the dorky boyfriend, the low self-esteem and the mildly glamorous job.

Here the romance is sparked in the opening 10 minutes, when Emma is bumped up to first class on a flight from Chicago to New York.

During turbulence, she finds herself blurting out her deepest secrets to the dashing chap (Tyler Hoechlin) sitting next to her. But her fears of impending death never materialise, so she leaves the plane red-faced after telling a stranger about how she hates her job in marketing, doesn’t love her boyfriend and has never had an orgasm. The next day, her office is preparing to greet their CEO Jack Harper who, weirdly, Emma has never seen. Guess what? It’s only the dreamboat from the plane? And guess what again? Instead of firing her, he only goes and falls in love with her. Daddario, who played The Rock’s daughter in San Andreas, summons up a couple of mild titters.

But before Emma dumps the dork, bags the hunk and learns to love herself, we must endure nonsense about female empowerment and some underpowered intrigue. What happened to the rom-com? It killed itself.