The girl with the caretaker personality: Where would standard-issue romantic comedy be without her? Here, it’s Sara Rue as Deb Dorfman, an accountant slaving away for her cheapskate narcissist of a brother (Jonathan Chase). At home, Deb’s taking care of her widowed, morose father (Elliott Gould) who punctuates every conversation with “Your mother used to . . .”
Our heroine drives around listening to audiobook bodice-rippers and yearning for Jay, a dashing foreign correspondent (Johann Urb). When Jay gets a plum assignment, she offers to cat-sit in his downtown LA loft, where he hasn’t so much as unpacked the dishes. But this time, doing someone else’s work has benefits for Deb, as she tastes independence and catches the eye of a handsome neighbor (Haaz Sleiman).
The plotting is like uninspired Mad Libs and the premise so slight it’s practically transparent. Nor is there much going on visually, beyond Jay’s to-die-for loft.
But “Dorfman in Love” has some appeal all the same. Gould’s lugubrious presence is always welcome, and Rue plays her lovelorn part with verve, such as when she’s exchanging barbs with a couple of hookers (who wind up as her tax clients).
The script by former “Mork and Mindy” writer Wendy Kout is sitcom-cozy, toddling along with affection even for the nominal villains. “Dorfman in Love” is as predictable as its heroine’s car-listening habits, but it’s an easy commute.