Aubrey Plaza, Anthony Mackie, Topher Grace, and more join anti rom-com 'A Many Splintered Thing'

For those who saw the Channing Tatum-led reunion comedy 10 Years, it may have been difficult keeping track of all the likable celebrities that were flitting there way in and out of the story. But two of the ones that I think did a pretty good job of making their characters stand out were Anthony Mackie and Aubrey Plaza. Hopefully the two got along on set because they're set to join the impressive cast for Justin Reardon's directorial debut, A Many Splintered Thing.

We first learned of the film early last month when it was being described as an "anti romantic comedy" in the vein of (500) Days of Summer and Amelie. Mackie and Plaza, along with Giovanni Ribisi, Topher Grace, and Philip Baker Hall will be joining stars Chris Evans and Michelle Monaghan in what is one heck of a line-up for a first time filmmaker. Who'd he sleep with to get this crew together? Evans plays "a young man disillusioned by love who meets a breathtaking young woman at a charity dinner by pretending to be a philanthropist. Turns out that she’s engaged to a guy who doesn’t like her going on dates. Challenged by the chase, and egged on by his eclectic friends, he feigns a platonic relationship in order to keep seeing her as he tries to conquer her heart." All we know about the casting at this point is that Grace will play Evans' best friend.

I continue to think this sounds like a lot of other rom-coms. Before we all get too excited and start thinking a cast like this means the film will automatically be better than other genre flicks, bear in mind that Mackie and Evans were also in What's Your Number, hands down one of the worst movies of last year. Even with the hyped up script by Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair I'm keeping expectations low.  We can probably expect to see A Many Splintered Thing in theaters some time next year. [Deadline/Variety]