20th Century Fox

Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper star in "All About Steve."

Critics across the country are applying a lockstep whuppin' to "All About Steve," Sandra Bullock's latest. What was she thinking, they ask. It's the worst movie she ever made, they say.

Fortunately, I'm not a critic but a humble reviewer. My job is to tell readers what to expect in a movie, to advocate for the best and warn readers away from the ones that aren't worth the price of admission, let alone the piracy at the concession stand.

And I see no reason to warn against "All About Steve." By the standards of most of what passes for romantic comedy in Hollywood, it holds its own. In fact, it dares to be a little different.

Bullock plays Mary Horowitz, a cruciverbalist -- or crossword puzzle maker -- in Sacramento. She's stuffed with arcane information and liable to let it spill out at inopportune times. Steve, played by Bradley Cooper, is a cable news cameraman whom Mary meets on a blind date arranged by their parents.

The outing is a calamity, largely because of Mary can't stop yakking even long enough to seduce her date. Steve is relieved to be rescued by a phone call. But Mary, mistaking his kindly parting words for romantic interest, begins following him to his assignments. She thinks she's in love; he thinks she's a stalker, albeit a stalker who's more eccentric than dangerous.

Kim Barker's episodic script is less than profound. Phil Traill's direction does not inspire the adjective "seamless." Truth be told, Bullock's twitchy performance doesn't stand up against those of Thomas Haden Church, who plays a bean-brained TV reporter, and some of the other supporting players.

But the movie's sins hardly merit the critical pounding it is taking and that likely will murder it at the box office.

"All About Steve" will not enrich your life, nor will you be culturally deprived if you skip it. It's just another entertainment out of Hollywood, for Pete's sake.