Amy Adams really should know better. In Leap Year, she plays Anna, an overexcited property “fixer” who, upon realising that her boyfriend, Jeremy (Adam Scott, who was hilarious in Step Brothers), isn’t going to propose to her any time soon, decides to follow him on his Dublin business trip and propose to him on February 29th, in line with an old Irish tradition. However, her plane is thrown off course by bad weather, and she winds up far away from Dublin, where she meets an innkeeper named Declan (Matthew Goode), who promises to drive her to Dublin, while causing her to rethink her life choices. If you can buy the conceit that estate agents actually pay people like Anna exorbitant amounts of money to furnish on-the-market homes for viewing purposes, then you might also tolerate this stagnant comedy, but otherwise, it’s a leap certainly not worth taking.

The most apparent issue with Leap Year from the outset is the poor casting of Adams in a role like this; her character is absolutely irritating right off the bat and rarely very likeable, which does not suit the more convincingly perky and affable mould that she has fashioned for herself in films Enchanted and Julie and Julia. As a mockery of the desperation for people to get married, it’s arguably a little successful, but the film’s fatal lack of wit implies this was not a concern of anyone onboard. Matthew Goode, meanwhile, fares a little better; the role of the charming, rugged young man is one he has honed well over the years, but he should also be putting his energy into more fruitful projects, even if he comes off a lot better than Adams.

It has been a while since a PG-rated rom-com has reared its head, and this film demonstrates why, given the incredibly meek, bland results herein. Talented director Anand Tucker, whose previous works include Hilary and Jackie and And When Did You Last See Your Father?, is clearly emasculated by the family-friendly treatment, which makes it all the more difficult to build any sense of lustful frisson between the two leads. As Declan walks in on a scantily-clad Anna, she declares “I’m naked here”, despite obviously wearing underwear, which not only seems head-scratchingly odd, but downright stupid, given that surely a shot of a topless Adams from the back would pass under the PG tenet?

While you can’t attain risqué comedy with such a mild rating, you can achieve clever writing, yet Leap Year once again fails here; as the fish out of water comedy it wants to be, it uniformly flounders. Though the film is quick to compare Anna and Declan’s styles – she is the complex, yet conceited idiot, and he is the noble simpleton – it’s too vague and never done with any wit or even any real humour. It’s also difficult to imagine that anyone Irish had anything to do with it; the constant spouting of Irish superstition from the oafish locals gets irritating very quickly, and the film deigns to deal in unfunny, cringe-inducing stereotypes which might even offend those from the area. The capers, “adventures”, and arguments are also lame, with every gag being absurdly predictable, most of all when, I kid you not, Adams treads in a huge cow pat...

The gags are recycled (with the script even including the “heads I win, tails you lose” coin flip shtick we’ve seen dozens of times before), the characters are obvious, and the romantic arc is hardly convincing. Moreover, the PG-rating severely hinders its ability to appeal to a mainstream audience (with “poo” being the strongest language on hand here), and even on a simple point of morality, Goode’s character seems to be enacting the same sort of philandering that ended his previous relationship (his girlfriend cheated on him), and that leaves something of a sour taste.

The final reel seals the deal anyway; the corny sense of community spirit, the all-too-easy vindication of Anna’s new relationship in favour of her old one, and the surplus of schmaltzy dialogue, is enough to make this one to miss. Much like last year’s 2012, it’s also been released a couple of years too early given the title.