Baggage Claim - C

Rated PG-13, 96 minutes

Peppy, slight "Baggage Claim" is grounded in predictability

Paula Patton

The thin but likable new urban romantic comedy "Baggage Claim" has such an attractive cast, it's hard not to like it, in spite of barely there, predictable plot and reflex laughs.
Her younger sister's wedding fast approaching, single flight attendant Montana Moore (Paula Patton) racks up thousands of air miles in an attempt to find Mr. Right, with the help of her colleagues (Jill Scott, Adam Brody) and her longtime friend and neighbor (Derek Luke).  Pleasant, frivolous and sporadically filled with some fun moments, there isn't much to the unmemorable "Baggage Claim," directed and written by author and playwright David E. Talbert and based on his book of the same name, but it should be a modest hit with most of its target audience of middle-age women. Patton and Luke are blandly handsome leads, especially Patton, who can charm anyone with her big, lovely smile as the woman desperate to be married. Both are upstaged anytime Scott and Jenifer Lewis, as Montana's overbearing mother, are onscreen with a funny look or quip. Talbert, in only his second feature film with "Baggage Claim," ties everything up by the end with an ultra pat, happy ending, pleasing only those who truly enjoy this type of thing. Just know from the first time you see Patton and Luke together you know what will happen before the film's end. As some of her other suitors, watch for a parade of handsome actors, including Taye Diggs, Boris Kodjoe, Djimon Hounsou (a fine actor wasted in just a couple of brief scenes) and singer Trey Songz. Instantly likable but pleasantly forgettable, "Baggage Claim" is here today, gone tomorrow.

Wes's Grade: C