Father and daughter's sweet tale too sickly.

Jersey girl (12a, 102mins)

Romance/Drama/Comedy. Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Raquel Castro, George Carlin, Stephen Root, Mike Starr, Jason Biggs, Jennifer Lopez.

Released: June 18 (UK & Ireland)

Set in mid-90s New York, Kevin Smith's romantic comedy is inspired by his own experiences as a father to a two-year-old daughter.

Handsome bachelor Ollie Trinke (Affleck, pictured left) believes his he has a full and contented life, with a good job and a loving family.

His perceptions are shattered when his beloved wife Gertrude (Lopez) dies during childbirth, shortly after delivering their beautiful daughter, who he names Gertie in her honour.

Ollie struggles to come to terms with his loss and he throws himself into his work as a high-flying music PR, ignoring baby Gertie in the process.

The pressures of parenthood eventually take their toll and Ollie loses his job.

He is forced to move back home to live with his father Bart (Carlin), where Gertie blossoms into a feisty, intelligent and precocious eight-year-old (Castro, pictured right).

Smith has an impeccable ear for dialogue and there are a number of scenes which really crackle, like an explosive argument between Ollie and Gertie that culminates in the frustrated single father snarling, "I hate you too, you little freak! You and your mother ruined my life!"

Unfortunately, every time the writer-director strikes a note of painful emotional honesty, he sweetens it with sentimentality, like Ollie cooing to his daughter "You're the only thing I was ever good at".

About A Boy used a similar set-up to far greater comic effect.

Affleck breezes through the film's many lighter moments and generates a fiery sexual chemistry with Tyler, but when it comes to portraying Ollie's overwhelming grief, Affleck struggles.

Jersey Girl is entertaining and sweet, but next to Smith's other films (Clerks, Chasing Amy), it feels rather lightweight.

Swearing, No sex, No violence