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"When in Rome" is a fun, lively romantic comedy that deviates from the standard formula and proves to be enjoyable for both women and men.

Beth (Kristen Bell, "Couples Retreat") is a museum curator who's been burned by love too many times, and is focusing on her career until she meets someone she cares about more than her job. After all, no one likes a romantic comedy with an annoying, desperate-for-love lead.

Bell has an easygoing demeanor and her ability to switch from being in control of a situation to being rattled in a believable fashion makes her relatable and likable.

Beth's skepticism of love continues when her younger sister tells her she's getting married in Rome to a guy she's only known for two weeks, but is convinced it's the real thing.

At the wedding reception, Beth is intrigued by the best man, Nick (Josh Duhamel, "Transformers"), who takes an immediate liking to her as well. All seems right for these two pretty people enjoying romantic bliss. Duhamel is dashing, but he's not so impossibly romantic or smooth that any guy watching can't possibly emulate him. Instead, he's just as likely to get laughs as Bell, and he's not afraid to look silly.

Before the script falls into all-too-familiar territory, longtime screenwriting collaborators David Diamond and David Weissman ("Old Dogs," "Evolution") work in a nice twist.

Crushed after seeing Nick with another woman, Beth takes five coins from the so-called Fountain of Love, in an effort to save the wishers from foolishly hoping for something as trivial as love.

Little does Beth know that she has been cursed and the owners of those coins — a street magician (Jon Heder, "Napoleon Dynamite"), an artist (Will Arnett, "30 Rock"), a comically vain model (Dax Shepard, "Baby Mama") and sausage vendor (Danny DeVito, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia") find themselves madly in love with her. Each of the four gets their chance to get big laughs; there is a fifth coin owner, who Beth thinks is Nick.

The film's title is slightly misleading, as most of the setting isn't Rome, but the majority of the events occur in New York, which isn't quite as romantic but works fine in this case.

Beth's suitors try to win her heart with some ill-fated, very amusing efforts, including painting a nude mural of her on an office building or sending her sausage baskets while she tries to sort through her feelings for Nick, who continues to pursue her.

Director Mark Steven Johnson, who directed action films "Daredevil" and "Ghost Rider," handles lighter fare very well and paces the film just right.

In a rarity for romantic comedies, which normally work best in small doses, the characters are so well-defined — from the leads to the supporting cast — the movie wraps before it seems Diamond and Weissman have exhausted all the possible jokes.

Nick, his buddy Puck ("Saturday Night Live's" Bobby Moynihan), and the four suitors are so engaging that it's almost a shame they're just subplots here and not the stars of their own movies. It's a nice problem to have for any comedy, but especially romantic comedies, since the ending is never in question.

"When in Rome" is solid romantic comedy in every regard, and avoids the usual traps of that genre.

When in Rome

PG-13, Comedy, 91 minutes

Director: Mark Steven Johnson

Cast: Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel, Will Arnett, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard, Danny DeVito, Alexis Dziena, Bobby Moynihan, Kate Micucci, Anjelica Huston and Don Johnson

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars