One of the more versatile genres in cinema is the romantic comedy. It can range from a straight forward romance with the humor derived from the mishaps that tend to surround relationships or take more bizarre twists. One of the latest flicks to enter the later category is ‘Careless’. The basic plot line is a man who finds a severed finger and then meets a young woman missing a digit. Now on the surface this may seem like a very unusual basis for a lover affair to blossom but in life stranger things have happened. As far as the film goes it works within the confines of the formula long established for the romantic comedy. All of the required elements are present and the movie is able to illicit laughs. While the film is flawed in it’s execution with is an enjoyable member of the genre. Most of the reasons the film does work is the affable cast that manage to carry the day. In a way the premise takes the age old ‘fickle finger of fate’ to an extreme. The tag line for the flick is ‘will the finger point to true love?’ The better question might be if the finger can point to a good movie. The bottom line is for a light heart and slightly out of the ordinary romantic comedy it works well. It will make for a good date movie as long as your wife or girlfriend doesn’t mind a detached finger propelling the story.

The film was written by Eric Laster and this is his first time at bat with a screenplay. The story is well done; it captures the attention of the audience with the whole missing digit thing. To his credit he doesn’t allow the finger to overwhelm the movie. It just sets things in motion and then he take the story to a lighter hearted romantic romp. Of course there is a scene where the guy licks the bandaged stump that more take more than a few members of the audience out of the moment, so to speak. In any story of this type there are a few supporting characters besides the young couple in question. True to the format of the genre Laster writes these characters are quirky and strange. This does sever to make the unusual situation more palatable to the viewers. The story moves along nicely with a well defined first, second and third act. Once again it is pretty much true to form with the situation looking very bleak in the middle of the story only to be resolved neatly at the end. Other than the initial driving twist to the story this is a fairly routine rom-com.

Directing the film is Peter Spears. He has been a working actor since about 1990 and like many SAG and AFTRA members is making his move to the DGA. He has a short film under his belt as director but this is his freshman opus for a feature length film. The style is simplistic. In this type of film this is the best way to go. The use of fancy camera work or mood inducing lighting only distracts from the story. Spears takes a straight forward approach to presenting this film to the audience. The film comes in with an economical 90 minutes running time. This allows Spears enough time to tell the story without becoming pedantic about it. He is also apparently a director who knows how to trust his cast. He has some fantastic actors here and he allows them the latitude to do what they do best. A perfect example of this is how he uses Tony Shalhoub. He is one of the best character and comic actors around today. He lets Shalhoub make his character his own and run with it. He plays a very un-Monk like slob here. Too many films of this type are over directed. As a first time director Spears adroitly avoids this pitfall and presents a solid piece of entertainment.

The film begins with a shot of Wiley Roth (Colin Hanks) as he finishes his work day. He is employed as a sales clerk at a bookstore, Book’em, which specializes in mysteries. He even has to wear the hound’s-tooth double brim Sherlock Holmes hat while behind the register. When he gets to his apartment he opens the fridge where there is an ample supply of prepackaged microwavable meals; typical cuisine for a bachelor. The rest of his evening consists of reading a mystery while having his dinner and a beer. Okay, the audience gets it; he needs a woman in his life. At work the next day Wiley muses about something strange that happened to him the previous night. While cleaning up the kitchen he stepped on something; a neatly severed human finger. After staring at it a couple of minutes he vomits; good thing he was in from of the sink at the moment. Since authority figures in uniform always hassles him Wiley holds off on calling the police. He examines the door to his apartment but there are no signs of a forced entry. He places the finger in a baggie and puts it in the freezer. He immediately suspects the two large men who just moved in across the hall, they like to keep to themselves. One of the men comes to Wiley’s door telling him he left his keys hanging in his lock; so much for the mystery of how someone got in. The next day he does call the police but gets put on hold and then disconnected. Wiley visits his father (Tony Shalhoub) and tells him about the finger but dad is not the least bit interested. He also discusses the matter with his best friend Mitch (Fran Kranz) whose best suggestion is to put flyers up. Wiley, his dad and Mitch go to see a psychic, Sabio (Godfrey) for help but he has none to offer. Eventually Wiley goes to a friend’s party to take his mind off the digit and it is there he meets Cheryl (Rachel Blanchard). She is sitting off in a quite corner as he approaches her. He starts up and sits next to her. Wiley notices that she is crushing goldfish crackers between her fingers so he takes a chip, places it on the table and smashes it; this elicits a smile from Cheryl. Soon they are having a drink and talking. When she takes the drink Wiley notices that her right hand is bandaged and apparently she is missing a finger. The next night they go to dinner together. Wiley still hasn’t asked about her hand. He tries to bring up the bandage but Cheryl is invasive. The remainder of the film is finding how what happened and why.

Colin Hanks has a natural knack for roles like this, Like his father, Tom Hanks, he has the every guy quality that makes men want to hang out with him and the ladies feel attraction towards him. He also can handle strange roles with talent and style. The chemistry he has with his co-star builds slowly and organically. This does add a lot to forwarding the story line. Together they make a great romantic comedy team. This film is a gentle little romp that will amuse the audience and is worth watching. The DVD is released through one of the most eclectic distributors out there, Image Entertainment. You can always find something off the beaten track with them.