प्लॉट

Dog trainer Alex is about to propose when his girlfriend gives him a list of changes that she would like him to do.

Alex, a lovable, unassuming dog trainer is in love with a great woman - Katherine - smart, talented, from a good family. Katherine adores Alex's quirky sense of humor, honesty and capacity to listen. Having decided to pop the question, Alex is blindsided when Katherine produces a detailed list of well-thought-out "improvements" she feels will tweak Alex on their way to becoming the ideal couple. Alex instinctively rejects the suggestion that he needs to change anything. But with the threat of a new competitor, Alex decides to "do the list." Guided by a coterie of friends that include: Dave, Alex's loyal childhood buddy, best female friend Lily, her husband Michael, and their 8-year-old son, Nicky, Alex's journey has him reconsider and question his beliefs, values and world.—Harris Goldberg/Kristen D'Alessio

Alex Buckingham and Katherine Stern as a couple isn't obvious on the surface. Stylish Katherine, a Jewish princess, is more conventional in nature, while Alex, more comfortable in ripped jeans and a t-shirt in the great outdoors, is somewhat offbeat. While Katherine could probably have any man she wanted, Alex, who has some socialization issues, has had a spottier dating record, he most recently having emailed with Russian Anastasiya, who he met online, for companionship. Part of that problem with socialization is that he uses his best friend Lily's family as his surrogate family, he unable to make a decision without Lily's okay, and treating Lily's adolescent son Nicky almost as his own, which secretly doesn't sit well with Lily's husband Michael, who tolerates it if only for Lily's sake. While Alex believes Katherine's friends are bizarre and pretentious, Katherine believes Alex's best male friend Dave, who he's known since childhood, is crude and doesn't know how to respect personal boundaries. Katherine, who doesn't need to work in being supported by her wealthy father, still aspires to working as a designer, while Alex, a dog trainer, probably would not be able to support Katherine to the style that her father's money has made her accustomed. What makes that last issue worse is that Katherine is allergic to dogs, meaning that she never goes to his place unable to be around his faithful dog, Tucker. Mr. Stern is the one person who does not understand an Alex/Katherine relationship. Lily, Michael and Dave all think Katherine is great, Lily who believes he should hold onto her in she being heads and tails above any other girlfriend he's had. It is in that issue that Alex has to decide how far he will go to please Katherine to hold onto her as he plans to ask her to marry him.—Huggo

Katherine Stern (Jennifer Morrison) gives her boyfriend Alex (Patrick Fugit) a list of all the things she wants him to change about himself. He works through the list sidekicked by his best friend, the neurotic single-mom Lily (Karen Gillan). But as Alex tries to complete the list, it leads him to the eventual realization that maybe there should never be a list at all.