I know how this looks.

The cover of this movie has DATE MOVIE written all over it. Well, aside from the fact that the words "date movie" aren't REALLY written anywhere, but you get the point.

Let's do the math; Mandy Moore, flowers in the sky, a boy and a girl sitting on a couch in complimentary lighting, and not to mention a boring, one word title. Check please.

But whoa whoa whoa, wait a sec homeslice. Yea, I guess you could tag it as a 'date movie'.... but only in the sense that Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind and Science of Sleep are. This movie is fantastic!

Billy Crudup is the anti date movie hero right off the bat. He's a misguided children's book writer who is as snide and brash as they come against any and all women that he comes across, especially Moore. He loves monster movies. Is open, honest, terrified to ride in cars, and looks for inspiration for his children books in strip clubs and porno theatres, and his only friend is a dead guy who he continues to talk to at great length. His performance is fantastic and his friendship with Tom Wilkinson is pure magic. The 2 make a better pair than, you know, the boy and the girl.

The movie slows up towards the end, and becomes a little idiosyncratic love story, but as a whole the movie is totally enjoyable, unique, comedic, and bashfully cute, my friends. And who can shy away from a movie with a soundtrack composed by Deerhoof? Not me.

It marks Justin Theroux's first shot at shooting flicks, instead of acting in em. Hat's off. And it seems he has plenty more up his sleeve. He co-wrote the upcoming Tropic Thunder with Ben Stiller which is beginning to generate a really excellent amount of buzz thanks in part to a black Mr. Downey Jr. Tell me THIS poster does not make you want to be at a movie theatre on August 15, 2008. Tell me.

In other wildly unrelated news, The New Kids On The Block are coming back to the block. Their newness, however, is a bit in question.