It’s difficult to make the perfect romantic comedy. It needs just the right ingredients, that include two leads with the hottest chemistry, a warm and funny script, and a few drops of a secret ingredient that gives it that je nais se quois. If you’re lucky you get When Harry Met Sally, if you’re not, you get This Means War.

For her second stab at directing, Leah McKendrick has written a veritable hybrid, that mixes the loss of a loved one with a new romance – a die-rom-com if you will. But does it work?

You have to be pretty lucky when your BFF is your sister, as is the case for Jill (Zoey Deutch) and Isabelle (Ciara Bravo), who still manage to be close despite living in different cities. Jill has moved to San Francisco to work in the kitchen of famous Chef Bastien (Nick Offerman), where her sister has to remain in Austin, due to suffering from cystic fibrosis.

They leave voicemails on each other’s phones constantly, which makes them feel that they’re not that far apart.

But then the unthinkable happens, and Isabelle dies. Jill is overcome in emotion, and one way that helps process the loss is by continuing to leave messages on her sister’s phone.

Unbeknownst to her, that number has been reassigned to the new work number for Wes (Nick Robinson), living and working in her hometown of Austin, who suddenly finds this mysterious woman leaving messages on his phone. He means to contact her and let her know she has the wrong number, but he becomes absorbed by the stories she tells. So much so that he feels the need to fly to the West Coast and meet her. But is that a good idea?

This is a confident second feature for actress-turned-director/writer McKendrick, with her audacious recipe for a film about grieving, loss and new love.

And the truth is, there are probably one too many ingredients, with a lot going on: you have Jill dealing with the death of her sister, as well as trying to progress in her kitchen workplace, whilst tackling the dating scene, while leaving messages to her dead sis, that are being listened to by Wes. So many different flavours all at once.

And because of this, it has more gear changes than an F1 race; oh that’s sad – sniff, oh that’s cute – sniff, awww they’re dreamy – sniff, making an audience feel pretty bi-polar by the end of it.

But for the most part, McKendrick pulls it off, emotional roller coaster ride to one side, with great chemistry between Deutch and Robinson, a heartfelt script sprinkled with homage quotes to other rom-coms throughout, and a syrupy soundtrack to match.

It feels like there might be a big age gap between Deutch and Robinson, who are actually the same age – 31, but this might be down to Deutch being around since appearing in 2013’s Beautiful Creatures aged 13. Her role here however, at the centre of everything and every emotion here, reminds us just how good she really is.

The director doesn’t get everything right, such as Jill’s working environ, and Wes’ best friend couple – which is doubly unfortunate as McKendrick plays wife-to-be Breeda, which takes the shine of the film overall, but she can be forgiven with everything else she gets right.

The concept of voicemail almost feels archaic these days, as most communication appears to be reduced to acronymic messages – lol, and vegetable emojis, but it fits in nicely with the film’s overall sentiment.

It is too long, and too much thrown into the pot, but it’s heart and humour are most definitely in the right place, serving up a very cosy and comfortable experience, that will definitely find – and hug- its intended audience.