Greg Berlanti's first feature (he also wrote the screenplay), about the romantic travails of the members of a gay softball team, shares a remarkable similarity with other barely entertaining fare such as Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss, Trick, I Think I Do, Broadway Damage, and the like. Boys meet boys, boys sleep with boys, boys fight with boys, boys sleep with other boys — The End.

However, no one expects a movie like Broken Hearts Club to change the world, and it does float along on a current of good cheer and likable performances. It's about a group of friends who also happen to play on the same softball team. Timothy Olyphant (Go) plays the main protagonist, Dennis, an aspiring photographer whose life is a bundle of loose ends. Dean Cain (TV's Lois & Clark) is Cole, the studmuffin who has a thing for pretty young boys. Dennis' best friend is the slightly geeky Howie (Matt McGrath from Boys Don't Cry), whose sister, Anne (Mary McCormack, Private Parts) has asked him to provide a sperm donation for her lover Leslie (love jones' Nia Long). Rounding out the group of pals are resident cynic Patrick (Ben Weber) and token African-American Taylor (Billy Porter), who have both just broken up with long-term boyfriends, and Benji (Zach Braff), who has a fondness for muscle queens and illicit substances.

The most compelling performance in Broken Hearts Club comes from John Mahoney (Say Anything, TV's Frasier) who plays Jack, the coach of the ragtag team and the owner of the bar/restaurant where the clique of pals can often be found. Mahoney is piquant and touching as the dress-wearing, torch song-singing restaurateur who's been in a relationship for many years, and the mentorship he gives to each of the team members transpires with grace. It's unfortunate when the script takes the predictable road and has Jack become ill (though not with AIDS, thank goodness).

Andrew Keegan (10 Things I Hate About You) is also likable as Kevin, a cute young thing who becomes the love interest for Dennis, but not before Cole gets his mitts on the just-barely-out-of-the-closet boy. As the film progresses, Keegan impressively conveys the growing level of comfort that Kevin feels with his sexuality.

One major problem with Berlanti's script is that Dennis is such a whiny, unlikable person that we don't really care whether or not he becomes a professional photographer and finds true love. Protagonists in other gay films (Jeffrey, All the Rage, The Object of My Affection, Love! Valour! Compassion!) have the same problem — it's almost as if the screenwriters didn't notice how self-involved and unappealing these people are. Other plot lines fall into the age-old screenwriting trap of "What conflict should I dream up for this person?" Howie's artificial insemination dilemma and Benji's non-stop partying are particularly tired.

It's illustrative to compare The Broken Hearts Club with Relax… It's Just Sex since both are recently released "gay films" set in Los Angeles with a large number of substantial speaking parts, and because one succeeds far more frequently than the other. P.J. Castellaneta's film offers believable characters, genuinely erotic sex scenes, and a compelling presentation of the issues facing gay men and lesbians today. Berlanti's offering unfortunately settles for clichéd situations and some PG-13-level snogging.

Gay and lesbian cinema is still in its early stages, and it's true that the form needs to be allowed to make mistakes along the way to maturity. But it's also necessary to be vigilant about its shortcomings. As romantic dramas go, Berlanti's film is worth a look on a slow day, but as gay and lesbian cinema, this Club needs more interesting members.