Have you heard the one about the guy who thought he'd be having an affair with his younger mistress but ended up duct-taped to the toilet while his summer home is trashed? Well, it's the story of Ian (Leverage's Timothy Hutton) in this dark comedy directed by Larry David's wife, Cheryl Hines. It's the story of love and loss and marital dynamics, with a more than a dash of trouble thrown in for good measure.

Ian has big plans to woo his young mistress, Sara (Kristen Bell), and flee for romantic Paris, leaving his wife of thirteen years, Louise (Meg Ryan), behind with only a note to feed the fish. When Louise discovers what he has planned, she goes postal, strapping him to the toilet, cooking his favorite dishes, and forcing him to watch the scenes of their once pretty life. She bounces his mistress off the front door, attempting to forcefully challenge his presumptions about their relationship, and "work things out."

But then the opportunistic lawnboy, Todd (Justin Long), crashes the scene, linking the two ex-loves together via duct tape, and leading a party of his miscreant brood in doing what they want and trashing the house. But all of this is just the backdrop for the real conversation, between Ian and Louise, two people trying to find themselves again. They remember what they once meant to each other, and all of the things they did (beating each other up, calling names, various bondage with duct tape), and all of that fades thanks to the crux of their situation. Seriously, it gets a bit cheesy there for awhile, but it's interesting given the psychological considerations: Todd becomes abusive/controlling; Ian grows into delayed manhood; Louise becomes the take-charge person she's always wanted to be. Sara just gets more annoying.

Playing out like an Agatha Christie play (subtract the murder, add the humor), Serious Moonlight winds up with its fair share of comedy, but it's really boiled back to being about a couple who must deal with what the rest of their lives look like. In a shocking twist, and a mini-spoiler, this one actually ends well, defying the dark comedy creed I'd think, and proving that when we're put into the grinder, who we are down deep comes out. Ian was being a philandering jerk, but when push came to shove, he found out that he was truly good at the core.

In its own way, Serious Moonlight wipes off the grime (or the paint in Toy Story 2) and points out that when we're forgiven, when we have a chance to change, we can rediscover who we're meant to be. We were created for good, and it's time we started living that way.