A flavorful update of the vaunting romantic truism that opposites attract, "Hav Plenty" is a rich love story centered on an aspiring black writer and his eye-opening New Year's weekend experiences with a female friend and her unconventional family. A crowd-pleaser at the Sundance Film Festival, "Hav Plenty" is a raucous, yet refined entertainment that should appeal to younger, intelligent viewers.

Lee Plenty (Christopher Scott Cherot) has on the surface nothing. He is 28, homeless and accordingly, without a date on New Year's Eve. After all, what self-respecting sister would go out with a guy in such a low spot? The only one who may be bluer on this eve of great expectation is Hav Savage (Chenoa Maxwell), a confident, voracious beauty who has recently broken up with her fiance (Hill Harper), a philandering rap artist. That he's a big star and all her relatives and friends have selfish motivations to make him a member of their family only intensifies Hav's sorry state.

Educated, bright and keenly perceptive, Lee is a complex equation. While he sports a don't-give-a-damn attitude, there is an underlying rigor to his laconic method. Hav grudgingly senses that there is depth to him; in any event, his unsparing, perceptive insights into her psychology intrigue her as much as they annoy her. However, Hav's is not the most challenging female psyche Lee encounters this New Year's Eve. There's her kooky girlfriend Caroline (Tammi Katherine Jones), who's on a man-prowl, and Leigh (Robinne Lee), Hav's disconsolate, younger sister who's having identity/marital problems. Not surprisingly, each agitated woman gravitates to straight-talking Lee, which distresses him and clearly does not help his writer's block.

What happens in this romp is the sort of stuff you can't make up - it rings so true. Screenwriter-director Cherot has dished up a dicey, romantic riposte, stuffing it with the real makings of romantic comedy: individual insecurities, desires and fears. The ripe performances are a special treat, especially his own as a befuddled but intuitive writer/confidant. Among the women, Maxwell stands out as the brassy, demanding Hav, who, despite her outward style and trappings, is clearly a have-not in the happiness department. Lee is captivating as Hav's younger sister, who is experiencing mid-20s growing pains, while Jones is a hoot as the bright, brazen girlfriend.

Cherot's visual acuity and sense of production detail is as keen as his scripting. The well-wrought setting, namely the Savage household, is a multilevel, minimalist apartment with intercoms in every room and plenty of empty space where everyone goes to isolate themselves with their laptops and cellulars. No wonder everyone is so misconnected.