What's Your Number?

Directed by Mark Mylod. Starring Anna Faris, Chris Evans, Joel McHale, Ari Graynor, Blythe Danner, Ed Begley Jr, Zachary Quinto, Andy Samberg 15A cert, gen release, 105 min

THERE'S A thorny question at the heart of this troublesome romantic comedy. Can a delightful pair of performances elevate a routine – if inordinately lengthy – tramp to the altar into something that doesn't induce fits of nausea and vomiting? Just about. But don't expect anything more from What's Your Number?.

You know you’re in trouble when a film takes about 30 minutes to lay out its execrable high concept. Pay attention.

Young Ally Darling (Anna Faris), recently fired from her unlovely job, takes a magazine poll and discovers that, having slept with 19 men, she is about nine chaps above the national average. Inexplicably swayed by this dubious statistic, she decides that, though she still intends to get married, she does not want any more notches on the bedpost. Accordingly, Ally hires the guy across the hall (Chris Evans) to track down all her previous lovers. The least repulsive fellow will, if willing, be propelled towards the aisle. Got that?

It’s largely rubbish. Aside from anything else, in keeping with current regulations, the film has its heroine pursue some hobby that, once lessons have been learned, will become her fulltime profession. Romcom Land must be full of quaint boutiques staffed by recently married movie protagonists. Faris’s Grotesque Sculptures. Aniston’s Artisan Cheese. Lopez’ Novelty Marzipan. That sort of thing.

Anyway, to return to our opening point, the endlessly sparky Faris and the annoyingly charming Evans sweat blood in their efforts to make the scenario palatable. She does comic surprise better than any other actor now working. He seems delightfully aware of the preposterousness of his own glamour.

Sadly, so familiar are the comic tropes that ghostly murmurings from the Lopez-Aniston axis appear to insinuate themselves into the gaps between words and the pauses between embraces. Get a better scriptwriter, guys. Or maybe a better exorcist.