And So It Goes

The principals on both sides of the camera seem to be in their comfort zone in And So It Goes, but moviegoers might not feel likewise.

The latest lightweight romantic comedy from director Rob Reiner has some modest charm but overall remains mired in obvious plotting and cheap sentimentality.

Michael Douglas stars as Oren, an arrogant and condescending realtor and widower whose main professional challenge is trying to sell his own house — which is overpriced because of sentimental value. At home, he’s also managed to alienate his neighbors, including Leah (Diane Keaton), a lounge singer still mourning the death of her husband.

Oren’s misery is interrupted when his estranged, ex-junkie son (Austin Lysy) informs him of an impending prison sentence on an unrelated charge. That means there’s no place else for Oren’s young granddaughter (Sterling Jerins) to go, outside of spending the summer with the grandfather she’s never met. Unable to cope with the new arrival, Oren reluctantly enlists Leah’s help.

They’re both lonely and vulnerable and in need of a transformation in their lives, with his cynicism and her emotional instability both stemming from grief. So their eventual attraction to one another is inevitable.

The film is breezy and innocuous for the most part, but most of the jokes in the screenplay by Mark Andrus (As Good As It Gets) are forced and stale. The biggest laugh comes from Reiner himself, who plays Leah’s piano player while donning a brown wig.

At least Douglas and Keaton appear to be having fun, even if the bickering between their characters grows tiresome after a while, not to mention predictable. “You need to have a little compassion,” Leah shouts to Oren during one early sequence.

Let’s just say the hearts of moviegoers won’t melt quite as easily as that of Oren, whose idea of flirtation is telling Leah, “I have sold houses older than you — and in a lot worse condition.”

Reiner has spent much of the past decade making these sorts of old-fashioned, gently mischievous comedies aimed squarely at an older demographic. Perhaps the target audience will find nostalgic appeal in a movie that seems to have been dusted off from a prior decade.

Rated PG-13, 94 minutes.