An award-winning documentarian (Lily James) finds her next subject when her childhood best friend and neighbor, a London-born fellow of Pakistani descent (Shazad Latif), agrees to his family’s wishes for an arranged marriage. She accompanies him and his family to Lahore to meet his lovely bride-to-be, and muses on her own, repeated failures to find Mr. Right.

Now, If you’re in the slightest doubt as to where all this ends up, you don’t watch nearly enough romantic comedies. But director Shekhar Kapur (Bandit Queen, Elizabeth) isn’t aiming for originality here. Though it’s solidly formulaic, he averts most of the usual rom-com tropes (like, say, the old mad-dash-to-the-airport finale).

Despite its lack of surprises, this feelgood movie is a sincere look at finding a mate without resorting to an iPhone app. It’s more charming than it is comedic, but it’s not awful and gets points for promoting cultural tolerance in a variety of ways. (108 min)