Alexis Bledel in The Good Guy

In his previous life as a Chicago investment firm employee, writer-director Julio DePietro picked up a few things about the way roving packs of fiscal sharks work and play in their 20s.

"The Good Guy" uses that nervous, hard-charging world to tell a story of three New Yorkers: urban conservationist Beth (Alexis Bledel of "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," Parts 1 and 2), her slick, hungry broker boyfriend (Scott Porter) and the all-too-conveniently located dreamboat (Bryan Greenberg), shy but substantial, who may not be cut out for Wall Street high finance and low morals but who certainly seems like a good guy to build a future around.

"The Good Guy" is narrated by Porter's character, whom we see in a prologue after he's been "blindsided" by his breakup with Beth.

What brought him to this point? The film trots back six weeks to show us how it all went down, and just how reliable (or un-) our narrator really is. DePietro struggles to reconcile the perceived demands of the romantic comedy genre (though his film is more bittersweet than most) and the tang and hustle and detail of real life.

For every good line there are two functionary place-holders, and the literary references -- from Ford Madox Ford's "The Good Soldier" to Jane Austen and the like -- resemble textual window dressing. Still, the banter of these brittle Manhattanites, looking for love and related payoffs, has its moments.

"I'm in the low-self-esteem business," says one investment wizard. "If a girl's parents are still together, I just move on."

 

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"The Good Guy" Movie Trailer

Ambitious young Manhattanite and urban conservationist Beth (Alexis Bledel) wants it all: a good job, good friends, and a good guy to share the city with. Of course that last one is often the trickiest of all. In the new romantic dramedy THE GOOD GUY, Beth falls hard for Tommy (Scott Porter), a sexy, young Wall Street hot-shot. But just as everything seems to be falling into place, complications arise in the form of Tommys sensitive and handsome co-worker Daniel (Bryan Greenberg). Beth soon learns that the game of love in the big city is a lot like Wall Street high risk, high reward and everybody has an angle.

 

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MPAA rating: R (for pervasive language and some sexual content).

Running time: 1:30.

Cast: Alexis Bledel (Beth), Scott Porter (Tommy), Bryan Greenberg (Daniel).

Credits: Written and directed by Julio DePietro. Produced by Linda Moran, Rene Bastian, DePietro. A Roadside Attractions release.