LEIGH PAATSCH, Daily Telegraph Sydney

Rating: ****

Am I going crazy, or is every second film coming out at the moment a cute and cuddly romantic comedy? Here's another one -- English in origin, yet thoroughly Hollywood-feelgood in form.

This time around the block, confusion reigns (seemingly forever) before the right pair of lovers finally lock lips.

The tangled plot unravels something like this. British music whiz-kid Daniel (Tom Hollander) falls for ditzy American tourist Martha (Monica Potter, last seen in Patch Adams) during a plane flight to London. They arrange to meet for lunch the next day, but Martha is a no-show.

The day after that, Daniel fills in his two long-tinge friends - shy artist Laurence (Joseph Fiennes) and hack actor Frank (Rufus Sewell) - on this unprecedented blow to his ladykilling powers. Neither are exactly what you'd call sympathetic.

Frank is too busy bitching about Daniel's mega-successful career, while Laurence's thoughts are also plainly elsewhere. He has just fallen in love. With Martha.

'From this point onwards, director Nick Hamm starts mischievously messing around with how this situation will play itself out.

Oddly, he chooses the Quentin Tarantino devices of time-shifting and stories repeated from the viewpoints of different characters to keep the audience leaning forward in their seats.

For the most part, this scripting skulduggery pays off in highly entertaining fashion.

The fact the script is packed full of very funny verbal zingers doesn't hurt the movie's prospects, either.

All in all, The Very Thought Of You is a dependably delightful date-movie distraction that tries a little harder than the average smooch fest around.

A pre-Shakespeare In Love Joseph Fiennes also proves he is more than just a high-brow, costume-drama clotheshorse, too.