Entertainment

She’s the one bride spot

The sort of movie that reinforces New Yorkers’ worst suspicions that all Los Angeles residents are shallow, “Celeste and Jesse Forever’’ belongs, like last week’s “Ruby Sparks,’’ to the school of romantic comedy that adheres religiously to the formulas that it’s trying to subvert.

At least this week’s writer-actress, Rashida Jones of TV’s “Parks and Recreation,’’ has written a much juicier part for herself than Zoe Kazan did in “Ruby Sparks.’’

Jones is impressive as Celeste, a snarky trend spotter for a marketing firm who’s plunged into comic emotional turmoil when her estranged husband and BFF indicates that he finally wants to get on with his own life.

The sweetly goofball hubby is played by Andy Samberg, late of “Saturday Night Live,’’ who demonstrated in 2007’s “Hot Rod’’ just how ill-equipped he is for a movie lead.

It’s hard to believe Jones’ control-freak Celeste would stay married to Samberg’s Jesse for six weeks, much less the six years the script insists their union has endured.

For the film to work at all, Jones and her director, Lee Toland Krieger, have to exile Samberg off-screen for long periods.

Jesse has abandoned playing what often comes off as a gay best friend to his wife because he’s impregnated a one-night stand whom, for reasons never elaborated upon, he decides to move in with.

Not that we ever get much more than brief glimpses of this woman, lest Celeste’s attempts to sabotage her relationship with Jesse make her seem even more unsympathetic than she does already.

Fortunately, it’s Jones’ movie, and she gives herself lots of good moments, whether it’s moving copies of her new book (“Shitegeist’’) to a more prominent place in a bookstore, or aiming withering putdowns at a guy in her yoga class who has the temerity to attempt a polite pickup. (He’s played by the ubiquitous Chris Messina, the producer’s husband, who had a similarly thankless role in “Ruby Sparks.’’)

Celeste’s agita — over losing Andy Samberg? — begins spilling into her work, where a major goof-up inadvertently helps a squeaky-clean singer (Emma Roberts) find an entirely new audience.

Jones is often very funny, and gets good support from (co-writer) Will McCormack, Eric Christian Olsen and Elijah Wood, the last playing the film’s official gay best friend.

With its dating montages and inevitable climax set during a wedding, “Celeste and Jesse Forever’’ often seems to have been designed by a screenplay-writing computer program.

It may have the faintest relationship to any kind of reality, but Jones’ tart performance cuts through the saccharine.