LOVE burns fiercely but can flicker and die in an instant.

The eponymous married couple in this gently paced comedy have been separated for six months but still live in each other’s pockets, causing friction with friends and family who can’t understand it.

Thus they must either stoke the embers of romance or admit defeat.

The film is set long after most romantic comedies end, at the point where the lead protagonists have taken off their rose-tinted glasses and seen each other’s foibles close up.

A sweet montage of Celeste (Rashida Jones) and Jesse (Andy Samberg) madly in love opens the film.

She runs a successful business but is ill-equipped to see that her relationship with Jesse has reached a point of no return.

The film is sweet and heartfelt, blessed with a screen rapport between the attractive leads.

Sharp dialogue and colourful characterisation make up for occasional mawkishness and the predictability of the narrative, spiced with gross-out humour.

Refreshingly, the script doesn’t take the easy and sentimental way out.