VALEEN Montenegro and Jerald Napoles play the unlikely couple in The Write Moment. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, mostly when the story playfully jabs at the nature of creative work. This is where director Lim seems most inspired to execute — riotous artistic environments, satirical portraits of artist-client relationship, which includes an obnoxious and kitschy photographer, and Dave himself and his crude movie script.

Imagine the leading man in a love story. Then erase that vision and you’ve got Dave. He’s got the sort of face that you’d swipe left on Tinder in a millisecond. Never mind what it says on his short bio, because you wouldn’t read it, anyway. The face gives off a strong impression.

Dave has pimple marks and craters, but these are compensated by a ripped body and a perfect set of white teeth. But Dave doesn’t really need your approval because he’s in love with his charming, Caucasian-looking girlfriend, Joyce.

In Dominic Lim’s fantasy romantic-comedy The Write Moment, Dave is played by Jerald Napoles and Joyce is played by a blonde Valeen Montenegro. Both are striking in their own special way.

Clearly, Lim wants to establish a “Beauty and the Beast” kind of love story to add humor, or perhaps a stronger sense of intrigue, towards his protagonists. Dave and Joyce defy the superficiality of common romantic expectations.

So, our hero, or antihero, Dave, works as a scriptwriter for a wedding and events coverage company. When his girlfriend Joyce (Montenegro) breaks up with him for cliché reasons, he is beyond devastated.

Incurably heartbroken, Dave, like every other creative mind, directs his all-consuming pain to his art. He begins penning a fictional script based on his fantasy: a love story between him and Joyce, in which they end up happily ever after.

What happens next is magic. The script comes to life à la Ruby Sparks (the Zoe Kazan and Paul Dano-starrer). The script takes full control of Dave’s life, forcing him to follow the script word for word; otherwise, he’ll get stuck in a scene over and over again, imprisoned by the same scenario à la Groundhog Day.

While Montenegro is competent, Napoles is the MVP of the film. The guy is a serious actor; gifted with an expressive, nuanced face and eyes that speak a wide range of emotions in a single moment. He delivers his lines with such precise comic timing, rendering a humorous scene more hilarious than it is.

The Write Moment is thoroughly engaging. Dave’s fictional script is intentionally hackneyed and amateurish as part of the film’s humor, and it works. But the movie’s script itself is well-paced, engaging and emotionally connects.

There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, mostly when the story playfully jabs at the nature of creative work. This is where director Lim seems most inspired to execute — riotous artistic environments, satirical portraits of artist-client relationship, which includes an obnoxious and kitschy photographer, and Dave himself and his crude movie script.

The film has minor flaws scattered about, but generally forgivable, like bit actors that sound stilted, some humor that fall flat (but never eye-rolling). And then there’s Dennis Padilla playing dad to the leading lady for the hundredth time (this has got to stop, really). And Joyce doesn’t look like any of her parents.

But it’s the ending that almost ruins the entire film. A mawkish attempt at salvation for Dave. A forced redemption. Highly unnecessary and anti-climactic.

Overall, however, the film is entertaining and worth seeing if you’re a romantic. The Write Moment is funny and gently moving, and manages to balance strong and natural performances from its main players, wit and the crushing reality of heartbreak.