Romantic comedies have long been the comfort food of the cinematic world. And really, as long as the dashing leading man and his ideal counterpart, the gorgeous leading lady, end up living “happily ever after” by the time the credits roll, most moviegoers will leave happy—and satisfied. 

Of course, countless variations of the basic boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-and-girl-overcome-insurmountable-odds-to-be-together-again premise have been served up to feed the public’s insatiable appetite for love prevailing against all odds. So much so that the writers responsible for recent flicks like The Holiday and Stranger Than Fiction have actually let audiences know they’re in on the joke.

In The Holiday it was the moment when the subtle nuances of how movie couples “meet cute” were explained to Kate Winslet’s lovesick character, Iris Simpkins. Then when Dustin Hoffman (as Professor Jules Hilbert) is trying to help Will Ferrell’s Harold Crick determine if he’s currently in a “comedy or a tragedy,” Hoffman smartly points out how most potential love interests in comedies will loathe the very sight of each other when they first meet, but will eventually end up getting hitched.

Even as unlikely as these scenarios are in “the real world,” it’s a formula that delivers the perfect escapist entertainment that movie audiences crave again and again. But every once in a while, there’s a rom-com that manages to switch things up a little—and offer the audience something a little more substantial in the process.

Don’t Judge a Movie by Its Trailer

At first glance, however, the pairing of Bridget Jones herself, Renée Zellweger, and musician/actor Harry Connick Jr. in New in Town didn’t exactly seem groundbreaking.  

Seemingly following that same, if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it course, you’ve got the cool, stiletto-sporting business exec from Miami (Zellweger) who is forced to rough it in chilly, small-town Minnesota for those funny, fish-out-of water moments. But to prevent the fix-the-factory-before-jetting-back-to-Miami proceedings from getting too boring, there’s an annoying, but surprisingly cute guy (Connick) to provide the necessary distraction and a chance for true love, perhaps?

Beyond that simple set-up, there was something deeper that inspired screenwriter Kenneth Rance, a committed Christian, to share this particular story with the masses.