Is there a better release date than Valentine's Day for a film set in Paris? Je pense pas.

Is there a better genre for a Valentine's Day film than a romantic comedy? Je pense pas encore.

Romance your sweetheart (or potential sweetheart) this weekend and see “Girl on a Bicycle,” at The Harbor Theatre in Boothbay Harbor. Take a round trip to the “City of Love,” transport provided by your theater admission, and immerse yourselves in this lighthearted story of love and relationships that will have you laughing out loud while snuggling down with your true love.

The very Italian Paolo (Vincenzo Amato) drives a tour bus in Paris, enjoys pointing out the failings of the “second best city of the world” as compared with Italy. These moments are delightfully funny. For example, when driving by Notre Dame, he informs his passengers that it took 87 years to complete the structure, whereas in Italy, “buildings in Italy seem to go up overnight ... but, what can you do?”

In another scene, while passing the Arc de Triumphe, Paolo tells his passengers that the Arc is not a very good reproduction. “It is not really a very good copy of the Italian arch, but I wouldn't say anything to the French because they like their arch very much and would feel really bad if they knew it was a really poor copy.”

One day while stopped at a red light in his bus, Paolo looks to his left to see a lovely brunette, Cécile (Louise Monot) on a bicycle. She looks over at him, smiles and immediately rides away when the light turns green. Paolo, on the other hand, stays in his stopped position and watches her as she rides away.

And his obsession begins ... after just one smile. He tells his friend, Derek (Paddy Considine) about her and how he has to see her again. Derek tells him to forget about the girl on the bicycle. After all, he loves Greta.

Later, Paolo works up the courage to propose to his flight attendant girlfriend, Greta (Nora Tschirner). Greta's friend, and pilot, Francois (Stéphane Debac), repeatedly challenges her steadfast belief in Paolo's fidelity. “Fidelity,” says Francois, “is the name of the woman who lives across the hall.”

Cécile, a part-time model and actress, is the mother of two young children, a son and a daughter, ages 6 and 5. Their ages are part of a funny, recurring bit in the film. Their father is no longer on the scene and to explain his absence she has told them papa must slay a dragon before he can return.

Long story short, Paolo and Cécile do meet — after he runs into her with his tour bus.

The laughs build as Paolo, feeling guilty for the damage he has caused Cécile (a broken arm, a leg and a bicycle) he attempts to lead a double life caring for her and the children and maintaining his real life relationship with Greta — make that the increasingly suspicious Greta. Particularly after she follows Paolo to Cécile's and discovers the broken brunette in a towel and two children calling her fiance “Papa!”

The actors cast in this film are perfect, particularly Paolo and Derek, I mean Amato and Considine. Their sense of comedic timing seems au naturale. The boy and girl portraying Cécile's children are adorable with a capital “A.” Greta sums up their cuteness factor perfectly when she tells Francois, “The were so adorable they could have been genetically engineered.”

In addition to being the primary film location, Paris is also another character in the movie. Parisian lovers and dreamers will be swept away by the sights: the Pont Alexandre III bridge over the Seine; the Louvre; the Eiffel Tower; the Tuileries Garden and its gorgeous fountain; the architecture of the architecture of the buildings along the Champs-Elysées. Soupir et évanouissement (translation: sigh and swoon). Soupir et évanouissement!

The soundtrack, music by Craig Richey, is delightful comprised of French accordions and strings accompaniment to a group of singers.

On a charm and entertainment factor scale, if there really was such a scale, this film would be a 10.

“Girl on a Bicycle” was written and directed by Jeremy Leven, screenwriter of “The Notebook” and director/writer of “Don Juan DeMarco.” It is rated R and has a run time of 101 minutes.

See it this weekend at The Harbor Theatre: Friday, Feb. 14 and Saturday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 16 at 3 p.m. The theater is located at the intersection of Routes 27 and 96 in the mall.