Soon after Jason Alexander found fame as George Costanza on the wacky TV series “Seinfeld,” he made this charming romantic comedy in which he portrays overweight shoe salesman Bernie Fishbine, who falls in love with a pretty Italian psychology student.  Nia Peeples, who found fame as one of the performing arts students in “Fame” is Tress Garibaldi, who also moonlights as a singer in her father’s Italian restaurant.  And while the casting of the leads, and perhaps even the subject matter, would indicate that this project is on the level of a TV-movie, I think it’s better than that.

Romantic comedies depend on the chemistry of their leads to persuade audiences that the main characters belong together, and there is palpable feeling between Alexander and Peeples.  They seem to genuinely connect, which is absolutely necessary for a story like this to work.  Alexander tones down his “Georgisms” to create a well-rounded portrait of a lonely man who finds the inspiration to try to better himself.  Writer Jonnie Lindsell and director Robert Macarelli do humiliate Alexander’s character, but they don’t do it maliciously; Bernie’s embarrassment is universal, and it is impossible not to empathize with the guy.

Nia Peeples is quite bewitching as Tress, the smart and energetic woman who reluctantly bases her psychological thesis on Alexander’s long-term eating problems. This, in fact, is the weakest section of the movie; her selection of him as her research subject seems rather weak and ill-advised, not to mention mean.  Yet it seems necessary, as there must be some major crisis to threaten their happiness, and his humiliation when he discovers her deception is all too real.

The supporting family characters tend toward stereotypical Jewish and Italian caricatures, and there is a wacky elderly couple at the candy store where Bernie buys his chocolate kisses (this, the title).  They provide generic comedy while Bernie and Tress gradually connect with each other and fall in love.  As in the best romances, the protagonists somehow manage to make each other finer people, becoming characters who are worth the time we spend getting to know them.

My rating:  ✰ ✰ ✰.  (7:1).