Trailer: 'How Do You Know' Starring Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson & Paul Rudd

Looks like the second title didn't stick. James L. Brooks' romantic dramedy, "How Do You Know?" was almost retitled, "Everything You've Got" earlier this year, but as evinced by the new trailer below, Brooks stuck to his original instincts.

The sports-centric rom-com centers on a love triangle between a white collar executive (Paul Rudd) and a professional baseball player (Owen Wilson) who are both vying for the affections of a woman (Reese Witherspoon) who comes from a sports-loving family and is just recovering from a major break-up. Jack Nicholson plays Rudd's father figure in a role that was originally offered to Bill Murray who turned it down (by simply not returning anyone's phone calls after showing signs of interest initially).

It looks and sounds like a pretty warm and fuzzy, feel-good dramedy, but that's probably what one would expect from the guy who directed "As Good As It Gets." The film is scheduled to hit theaters on December 17 and we're not counting it out just because the trailer is a little cornball. Brooks' humanistic films have wavered closer to mawkish tendencies of late (and "As Good As It Gets" is not our favorite Brooks film by a long shot), but it's still a good cast and it will be nice to see Paul Rudd in what looks to be a slightly less goofy context. Laughs, tears and some soup-for-the-soul wisdom is generally what Brooks' films provide these days. Let's just hope it's not too sentimental, though yes, by the trailer you're forgiven if you've already written it off. "Marley & Me 2"? Let's hope not.

Btw, the cornball song that's responsible for making this trailer as bad as it can be is Brendan James' "The Lucky Ones."