Director Marc Webb ("500 Days of Summer" a favorite, by the way) has taken a script by Allan Loeb ("The Space Between Us") and created a contrived and (I hope) unusual romance.

Part of Webb's cast:

• * Callum Turner ("War & Peace") Thomas Webb is our eponymous hero, struggling with three things: his new-found knowledge about his dad, some unexpected feelings for that girlfriend, and his stalled writing career.
• * Pierce Brosnan ("The Son") is his successful publisher father Ethan, gobsmacked by this unexpected turn of events.
• * Cynthia Nixon ("A Quiet Passion") is his bipolar mother Judith. She hasn't known which way to turn for a long time.
• * Kate Beckinsale ("Love & Friendship") is that interloper Johanna. Why does she have to be so beautiful?
• * Jeff Bridges ("Hell or High Water") W.F. Gerald is the drunken new neighbor. He insists on intruding into our hero's life, asking questions and giving advice. Bridges also serves as the narrator for this forced-sounding, meandering story.
• * Kersey Clemons ("Easy") Thomas's sweet friend Mimi hates what she sees. That job offer in Croatia looks better and better. She was the only character I could root for.

This 88-minute, R-rated drama has everything you might expect: a technicolor love poem to New York City, an appealing cast, and good performances from both Bridges and Brosnan, but it desperately needs closed captions! A couple of secret affairs entail a LOT of whispering. And frankly, I had trouble overcoming the "ick" factor.

* * * * * * * * * * * *
See this preview:
http://www.imdb.com/videoplayer/vi3907500313
* * * * * * * * * * * *