The Accidental Husband

Dispenser of stern advice on her NYC radio phone-in, broadcaster Uma Thurman’s about to wed her publisher fiancé (Colin Firth), only to discover the registry office database already has her married to some guy in Brooklyn. That’s fireman Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who’s fuming after the radio host talked his fiancée into calling off their nuptials and, with help from a techy whizzkid, has taken his revenge.

A tussle over the annulment sets in motion the familiar rom-com tropes of choosing between seemingly opposite suitors and initial antipathy sparking made-for-each-other passion. Uma works hard to convince us she’s funny, and though the effort’s obvious, we’re rooting for her – if only her choices made any sense.

Dean Morgan’s cheeky-chappy act is grating indeed, while his tight-lipped rival’s so utterly stolidly Firthian we could easily be watching his Madame Tussaud’s mannequin. Painless anodyne fare, though genuine laughs are few, apart from comfort-eating Firth’s illicit ‘naughty choccy’.