Anyone thinking about making a romantic comedy should take a look at director Tim Story's "Think Like a Man" before shooting the first frame of film. It's not often you see a movie that touches your heart and funny bone so perfectly.

What makes Story's efforts even more amazing is that he doesn't just deal with one relationship, but he manages to weave four different storylines and treat each with the same loving respect.

Screenwriters Keith Merryman and David A. Newman have loosely based the script on the book written by comedian/game show host Steve Harvey. His "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy and Commitment" is a battle plan for women in the war of the sexiest.

On one side of the game of love is a group of basketball buddies. Each guy has a different -- and flawed -- approach to dating. Dominic (Michael Ealy) lives an unplanned life, so his relationships are just accidents in the night. Jeremy (Jerry Ferrara) refuses to grow up and start an adult life. Zeke (Romany Malco) has smooth moves, and there's only one No. 1 woman in Michael's (Terrence Jenkins) life -- his mother.

The other side is made up of women equipped with Harvey's insights. There's no contest. It's like an army going to war when the other side has all your plans. That changes when the men find out about the book and use it to their sexual advantage.

What gives the film great balance is that the women have their own emotional foibles from the status seeker (Taraji P. Henson) to the manipulator (Gabrielle Union).

In the end, the chemistry between all the couples plays so real you can't help but want them to fall in love.

Story ties it all together with the energetic comedy of Kevin Hart, the newly divorced member of the group. Just when the film seems to be slipping into a very special episode of "Oprah," Hart fills the screen with outrageous humor. And he still manages to get his own warm and fuzzy moment.

"Think Like a Man" proves romantic comedies can work -- and work lovingly -- as long as you start with the right mixture of love and laughs, toss in a cast that is so endearing you want the best for them and tie it all together with a smart comical thread.

It sounds easy, but the trail of broken hearts for recent bad romantic comedies shows Story's efforts are something special.

MOVIE REVIEW

"Think Like a Man," rated PG-13 for sexual content, crude humor. Stars Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson. Directed by Tim Story. Running time: 123 minutes. Grade: A- Theaters and times for this movie | Other movie reviews