What do you get when you combine the edginess of Bridesmaids, the humor of My Best Friend’s Wedding, and the heart of When Harry Met Sally? Answer: Plus One, a clever romantic comedy about two longtime friends facing lots of weddings who become each other’s Plus One. Why? To help them get through each festivity without going bonkers.

Maya Erskine and Jack Quaid deliver highly watchable comic performances here. Quaid (Rampage) plays Ben, a rather reserved and sometime screw-up in his late 20s. The cynical Alice is portrayed by Erskine (Wine Country), and she commands the screen. Just try taking your eyes off her! Alice seems far from the hapless woman of many romantic comedies, but she’s filled with bitterness over her breakup with a longtime boyfriend.

Ben can’t help worrying about his father’s (Ed Begley Jr.) third wedding, while Alice seems uncomfortable about the upcoming nuptials of her younger sister. And both friends have many other weddings to attend. No wonder they decide to be Plus Ones.

Happily, this gives viewers the chance to see some very funny speeches and wedding activities. But, most of all, it allows the relationship of Alice and Ben to grow into something deeper than friendship. Through it all, Ben (son of Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid -- wow, what acting genes!) is the straight man to the hilarious Alice, whose crude behavior and language make her hard to take at times, but never boring.

Don’t worry, rom-com fans, it’s still a bumpy road for these two, even after they discover their real feelings for each other.   

With edginess, humor and heart,

“Plus One” charms us right from the start.

Weddings, weddings everywhere.

It seems best going as a pair.

Alice and Ben decide to be

each other’s Plus One. It’s easy!

How long can they stay only friends?

Is that the way their story ends?

This rom-com made me laugh a lot.

Fine performers and clever plot.

Funny dialogue rates three cheers.

Applause for all. Not any jeers.

Co-written and co-directed with care by feature film newcomers Jeff Chan and Andrew Rhymer, Plus One receives my award for "Best Movie with a Romantic Scene in a Cemetery." And it’s a doozy. 

Julia Roberts, a rom-com veteran, once said that although she loves romantic comedies, it’s “increasingly difficult to find that spark of originality that makes one different from those that came before.” 

Chan and Rhymer found that spark with Plus One.

(Released by RLJE Films; not rated by MPAA.)

For more information about Plus One, go to the IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes website.