Modern Romance

Writer/director Brooks casts himself as a neurotic, workaholic film editor who, unable to cope with his obsessive love for the beautiful Harrold, forces himself to give her up. He then adopts an equally compulsive regime of trying to forget her: taking up jogging, looking up old flames, and immersing himself in the editing of a low-budget sci-fi movie - made by his namesake James L Brooks (director of Broadcast News). None of this works, of course, but having wooed Harrold once more, he again falls prey to this perverse, self-destructive syndrome. Extremely funny, ultra-hip and alarmingly insightful.