In the musical universe lived in since childhood by Sidney (Lathan), hip-hop is true love whilst rap is merely a cheap, cosmetic affectation.

She and best buddy Dre (Diggs) attribute their lifelong friendship and the launch of their careers to a single moment when they discovered the music on a New York street.

Fifteen years later Dre is a bigshot record producer with Millenium Records while she is a revered music critic on a popular magazine.

In the lurve stakes, Dre meets high-flying lawyer Reese (Nicole Ari Parker) while Sid is courted by basketball star Kelby (Boris Kodjoe).

Also in the mix are Queen Latifah as Sid's sassy gurlfriend Francine and Def as a faded rapper Dre wants to bring to the big time.

You don't need to be an agony aunt to realise that Dre and Sid are the two who should be together ...but when are they going to realise?

It may not be a black Four Weddings and a Funeral (the jokes are pretty few and far between) but Famuyiwa's comedy does challenge the usual stereotypes.

For a start, everything takes place in a black middle class world you wouldn't think existed if you were brought up on a diet of gangsta movies.

There's even some gentle ribbing of the macho swaggering of the rap genre - an Eminem clone and his pal get Dre to reluctantly produce "The Ho Is Mine", loosely based on the Paul McCartney original, but with a sexist twist.

Significantly, Dre rejects the bigoted world of rap ("I don't want no bling, bling or shiny suits) and yearns for a return to the more wholesome values of hip-hop.

There's even a self-deprecating take on satisfying a laydee - "usually I'm like the Energizer bunny," states the underperforming Dre.

So nothing revolutionary, but a perfect date film that shows the likes of Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts haven't got a monopoly on the rom-com genre.

Tim Evans