By Lauren Suval

                  The predictability factor of Greg Berlanti’s “Life as We Know It,” starring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel, is reminiscent of the film’s title. It’s not quite a brain teaser to ponder how the lives of Holly Berenson and Eric Messer will play out. It’s the classic tale of the laid back, free-spirited boy who meets the sweet, yet uptight, girl, who both fall perfectly into the cliché “hate turned to love” relationship paradigm we see in romantic comedies time and time again.

                  These two opposites usually attract because they have no other choice but to muddle through a predicament together, and this film is no exception. When Holly met Messer on a blind date set up by their best friends, they didn’t even make it to the restaurant; not that you can really blame Holly for ordering him out of her new red ride. He was the first guy she agreed to see after her ex-boyfriend of three years and he was, of course, a bonafide a–hole. Messer had proceeded to take a phone call from his “lady friend” and arranged their little rendezvous right in front of Holly, who sat there in awe at his insensitivity.

                  Flash forward three years later, and we see the two spending more time together since the two friends who set them up conveniently got married and had a baby. Now let’s go even further, kill off the best friends in a car wreck, and have Holly and Messer spend even more time together raising baby Sophie while living under the same roof. It sounds like a guaranteed formula for them to grow fondly of one another, so understandably I experienced a tad bit of déjà vu. Do we remember “Leap Year,” which was released this past January with Amy Adams and Matthew Goode?  Control freak Anna  was stuck with go-with the flow Declan in the middle of no-man’s land, Ireland, while she was trying to make her way to Dublin to propose to her fiancée. They couldn’t stand to share a meal together but alas, they fell in love under forced circumstances.

                  Then of course there’s always the conflict after the sparks begin to soar. In “Life as We Know It,” there was the other man, a.k.a Dr. Sam (Josh Lucas), who Holly wanted to go out with ever since he first entered her gourmet food shop 35 sandwiches ago. Sam represented stability while Messer was the absolute antithesis of a plan. “Leap Year” too, featured the fiancée who was everything Anna wanted, or so she thought, until she wound up in Declan’s arms after she left her comfortable life in Boston and broke off her engagement. Did I mention déjà vu?

                  While the plot of “Life as We Know It”was unoriginal, there were still plenty of laughs to go around as we watched Holly and Messer experiment with parenting. Whether it was trying to change a diaper, singing cheesy songs to quiet Sophie down, or the “self-soothe” method Holly advocated as a way to foster an infant’s independence, Heigl and Duhamel complemented each other nicely with their comedic timing.

The acting was on par with both stars, with moving scenes that may potentially have you reaching for the Kleenex (after all, the dark circumstances which led them to have to raise Sophie in the first place couldn’t always be disguised, even in the midst of all the banter, one-liners and eccentric neighbors who provided the comic relief).

                  When all is said and done, if you’re looking for a typical romantic comedy, go and enjoy “Life as We Know It,” but if you’re wondering whether or not you’ve seen this before, just know you probably have.