Television producer Joshua Brand makes his feature directorial debut with this romantic comedy based on a legendary script from Morgan Upton Ward that bounced around Hollywood for some time as an offbeat favorite before getting a production green light. One can quickly see why: the story's goofy, lighthearted, and thoroughly quirky plot and characters immediately call to mind such infectious fare as Moonstruck (1987) and Once Around (1991). Unfortunately, in trying to ape the fractured, eccentric tone and characters of such classics, the filmmakers don't quite succeed. The whimsical tone is right on the money, but the director and his cast don't really seem to believe in the material, presenting every moment with a winking irony that lets the viewer know they're in on the joke. What works so well in the types of film that are being emulated is a quality of the performers really inhabiting the world of their characters, buying into the reality of who they are and how they live. The cast of A Pyromaniac's Love Story (1995) is unfortunately just visiting from elsewhere, ready to make a quick getaway once their little play is finished.