This light and frothy romantic comedy gets 2010 off to a good start. This entertaining movie is what people like to see on date night.

After her four-year anniversary passes without a marriage proposal, Anna (Amy Adams from “Julie & Julia” and “Enchanted”) decides to take matters into her own hands. She follows her cardiologist boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott from HBO’s “Tell Me You Love Me”) to Ireland to invoke an Irish folklore tradition brought up by her father (John Lithgow from “Dexter” and “3rd Rock from the Sun”). The tradition is that if a woman asks a man on Leap Day, Feb. 29, to marry her, he has to say yes.

Bad weather forces Anna’s plane to land on the other side of Ireland. Fate places her in the orbit of Declan (Matthew Goode from “Watchmen” and “Match Point”), a handsome and surly Welsh innkeeper. Because of financial difficulties, he reluctantly agrees for a hefty fee to drive her across the country to Dublin.

This movie nicely blends amusing slapstick pratfalls with passionate romantic fireworks.

Adams is a charming, red-headed beauty who has a knack for physical comedy much like Lucille Ball. Goode is the tall, dark and attractive stranger that women yearn for in their erotic fantasies. He fits into the suave and debonair mold usually reserved for Hugh Grant.

Anna and Declan bicker and get off on the wrong foot. Circumstances force them to pretend to be a couple. Their inevitable attraction for each another can’t be denied once they share a first kiss.

The movie includes scenes involving cooking and Irish folk dancing. It kindles the warm feelings derived from finding the perfect soul mate in life. The movie is slanted toward the female perspective on matters of the heart. It shows that chivalry is not dead when it comes to a man showing respect for a vulnerable woman.

This crowd-pleaser even has an unexpected twist ending.

The palpable chemistry between the two leads makes the cross country journey delightful fun and well worth taking. The movie raises the important question of what you would take from a burning building if you had only 60 seconds to decide. The value of companionship and someone to love tilts the scales over material possessions.

The movie was shot on location in Ireland, providing a backdrop of eye-pleasing scenery. Kudos are well-deserved for this sweet, pure and innocent cinematic treat effectively directed by Anand Tucker (“Shopgirl”) from a script penned by the screenwriting duo of Deborah Kaplan (“Made of Honor”) and Harry Elfont.