BEHAVING LIKE ADULTS (2003)

At first glance, Maxted's heroines fit the chick-lit template: They're successful, attractive London gals with a gaggle of friends prone to Rupert Everettesque scene-stealing. Then they get hit with a Big Issue -- anorexia or a parent's death -- which often brings a movie-of-the-week heaviness. Behaving starts off similarly, with professional matchmaker Holly surviving a rape. But the preachiness is offset by the lovability of the characters -- particularly Holly's unpolished yet wise parents, who make Bridget Jones' nattering mum seem cartoonish in comparison.