Tom and Violet have a wonderful relationship. After dating for a year in sunny San Francisco, the darling couple (played by Emily Blunt and Jason Segel) are ready to take the next step. However, when Violet is offered a post-doctoral fellowship in Michigan, the couple abandons their lives (and Tom’s job as a chef at a fashionable restaurant) in San Francisco to live in the frigid, culinarily-bland Midwest. A good, mainstream rom-com starts not with a great script – these days, they vary only from ‘bad’ to ‘worse’ – but with a strong couple. The couple must demonstrate two main selling points: attractiveness (not just in physicality, but in terms of romantic chemistry), and comedic sensibility. Segel and Blunt may not be as drop-dead gorgeous as the lovers in Pretty Woman, or as hilarious as those in When Harry Met Sally, but their endearing romance and carefully timed nerdiness make for a winning combination. The supporting cast is fantastic, including Chris Pratt and Alison Brie in versions of their “Parks and Recreation” and “Mad Men” characters. Personally, I’ve been in love with Rhys Ifans since he displayed his Welsh accent and flabby buttocks in Notting Hill. And as far as rom-com scripts go, this one is not half bad, it might even be good. Jason Segel and Judd Apatow are a great match; Segel’s natural sweetness cuts down on Apatow’s crudity, and Apatow’s razor sharp comedic sensibility helps even out Segel’s penchant for the mawkish. Segel and Apatow have worked together many times before, starting back in the stone ages with “Freaks and Geeks.” Completing the trio is director and co-screenwriter Nicholas Stoller, who has worked with the others on both Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Gulliver’s Travels. Still, the plot holes are as obvious as Brie’s fake-British accent. The whole premise is undercut by the fact that anyone who, like this couple, is contemplating a life in academia knows that one has next to no control over where to live. And as a native of Minnesota, I take umbrage to the idea that life in the Midwest is inherently suckier than life on the coast. In fact, the only real problem in their relationship seems to be geographical location, which somehow impedes marriage, their gateway to happiness. The implication that a life without marriage is doomed to be incomplete is a disservice to the many couples that share their lives regardless of whether the law sanctions their relationship. However, it is significant that this rom-com is somewhere in the vicinity of a quality product. Since Apatow and Segel have both carved out comfortable niches, I’m hoping the film can boost the career of the classy and talented Blunt. I have my fingers crossed that she will become the next Julia Roberts: not only can she carry a rom-com, and flash an big, beautiful, toothy smile, she can actually act outside the range of a teaspoon. Hopefully this film can make her career the way 10 Things I Hate About You did for Julia Stiles, on a more lasting timeline. -Britta Hanson