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Uma Thurman plays a divorcee unwittingly dating her therapist's son in romantic comedy Prime. It sounds like the cue for a dozen nudge-nudge wink-wink gags and a canned laughter track. Thankfully writer/director Ben Younger takes a low-key approach boasting lots of dry humour instead. Meryl Streep is wonderfully funny as the overbearing Jewish mother without lapsing into obvious hair-pulling hysterics, but then the story sometimes lags if she's off-screen for too long.

The star of the show is little known actor Bryan Greenberg playing the apple of Streep's eye. Unfortunately, while likeable, he doesn't really have the commanding presence you might expect from a man who could sweet-talk his way into Uma Thurman's boudoir. On the other hand he does carry the wackier moments with ease, like a flashback to his immigrant grandmother whose reaction to news that he's dating a black girl is to beat herself over the head with a frying pan...

"PLENTY TO LIKE"

Thurman is a great foil for Streep's batty mom, but she doesn't generate the same chemistry with Greenberg. They break up and get back together and stumble towards a resolution that takes too long unfolding. Even so, there's plenty to like about this comedy. The premise may be shamelessly attention grabbing, but Younger doesn't kill the joke. Instead he slowly turns up the heat beneath the characters as he did with his much talked-about 2000 drama Boiler Room. Like that film, this bristles with raw energy and a refreshing idiosyncrasy proving that this indie filmmaker isn't yet past his prime.