CHARMING performances from Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo save this film from being yet another dreamy rom-com.

Instead audiences are treated to something as sweet and fluffy and delightful as a jumbo bucket of toffee popcorn.

Ruffalo has a quirky vulnerability as David, a lonely landscape gardener who moves into a sublet apartment to escape the memories of his late wife.

Yet, his troubles have only just begun when the apartment's former owner Elizabeth (Witherspoon) mysteriously appears, claiming to still live there.

Flitting in and out of the apartment, David soon realises there has been some terrible mistake.

But when he changes the locks and Elizabeth continues to appear he is led to believe she is a ghost.

OK, the plot doesn't sound particularly inspired but a couple of unexpected twists keep it metres from the road of predictability.

Ruffalo and Witherspoon are highly watchable while the impossibly dry Napoleon Dynamite star Jon Heder provides a handful of laughs as the spiritual bookshop worker who helps David communicate with his uninvited roommate.

And while the film's title screams "pass the sick bucket", you may find yourself instead delving into the popcorn bucket and quite enjoying yourself!

EB