Imagine a lesbian movie without sex. Although it's rather inexplicably rated R, this romantic comedy set in London is strictly PG fare; it's all about the love. Piper Perabo's Rachel and Lena Headey's Luce never even get to tangle in the sheets -- their one make- out moment on a bed of thorny roses is interrupted by Rachel's husband -- but that doesn't stop them from knowing at first glance that it's the real thing.

Whether or not one buys that premise is beside the point. British writer/director Oliver "Ol" Parker isn't gunning for Preston Sturges or Billy Wilder sophistication; he wants simply to put a little spin on the venerable Julia Roberts/Hugh Grant formula for mismatched romance. Like lightweight but likable fare from "Runaway Bride" to "Notting Hill" to "Four Weddings and a Funeral" to even "Bridget Jones' Diary," this entry into the genre has the couple meet cute, fight attraction, tangle with assorted family members, and finally figure it all out in a big scene just before the credits roll. Parker changes the pronouns but little else. Even 10 years ago, that might have seemed absurd: Women didn't just "cross the street" (to use Rachel's phrase) without some inner turmoil or at least a freaked-out Mum to worry about. Now, post-"Sex and the City" and its little stepsister "The L Word," mums -- hell, even husbands -- are more likely to raise a toast as the adventurous ladies toss aside their hang-ups and follow their hearts. And if we still live in a homophobic world, well, it is also increasingly a world where a precocious pre-adolescent girl casually declares her love for her female classmate with the disclaimer, "It doesn't mean you're a lesbian."

Perabo channels Julia Roberts in the role of a straight (as in square) bride marrying her longtime beau, the likeable Hector (Matthew Goode, who also charms in Woody Allen's "Match Point.") Lena Headey, whom indie film fans might remember from such delightful, if little-seen, movies as "Twice Upon a Yesterday" and "Aberdeen," is the funky and adorable florist whom Rachel meets cute at the wedding reception. The fact that a florist is even at the church and parties at the reception (the other guests have to be there; she's the hired help!) is ridiculous, of course, but hey . . .

The newlyweds invite an unsuspecting Luce over as a blind date for the obnoxious Lothario who was Hector's best man. Rachel's interest in her new friend pushes her to a degree of discomfort when Luce sets everyone, er, straight with news that she's gay, though single and lonely. The film nicely nails the sexual and emotional ambivalence of heterosexual women around attractive lesbians, a rarity in mainstream movies. Rachel's feelings are not mere sexual curiosity -- not that there's anything wrong with that -- but this is a movie about the sweet mysteries of the heart, not desires of the flesh.

As Rachel's attraction to Luce deepens, the film walks a delicate line for a romantic comedy. Can the audience root for a bride to leave her nice-guy husband for a woman? Can a "homewrecker" win audiences' sympathies as a romantic heroine? "Imagine Me & You" manages surprisingly well on both counts. Kudos to Parker and Goode for not taking the easy way out by making Hector a jerk (that role is filled by his best man) and thus perpetuating the myth that women don't leave happy marriages for lesbian love. Luce is shown to be torn about her attraction to Rachel; the film makes sure she isn't the instigator. Rachel is the one who, albeit reluctantly and in mixed-up fashion, pursues Luce. They attend a soccer game where, in the big bonding moment, Luce teaches Rachel how to deliver a forceful yell, the movie's rather obvious metaphor for a girl-power awakening. Luce helps Rachel find her inner roar, but it's Rachel who unleashes it in the film's cute, if cliched, climax.

Parker could have raised the stakes just a bit by having the extended family in the film not be quite so accepting and supportive. Luce's mum is reeling from a bad divorce and ready to start dating again, so she's all for emotional risks. Rachel's bickering parents are unhappy, so they can hardly voice objections over their daughter's quest for true love. But even though this movie aspires to nothing more than light romance, is it too much to ask that a mother so traditional that she clamors for grandkids and gives her daughter a cookbook for her birthday would prove a bit more of a obstacle to her steadfast, caring daughter? Yes, movies are allowed to be movies, but they could be better movies with a bit more salt to temper all that sugar.

"Imagine Me & You" is able to rise above its formula on the talents of its attractive stars. Perabo, so memorable as a teenager in love with her best friend in "Lost and Delirious," seems ready for stardom. But it's Headey who must make the audience also fall in love with her, and she's the right mix of vulnerable and self-assured, sexy and eccentric. (Headey also has some lesbian screen cred: she played the young Sally, object of Natascha McElhone's affections, in 1997's "Mrs. Dalloway.") That the girls are conventionally attractive doesn't hurt the movie, but then, anyone, male or female, buying a ticket to "Imagine Me and You" for the girl-on-girl action will be disappointed. But there are lots of other movies for that. Sex is just sex; this time it's all abot the love.

-- Loren King