Over the years, it’s likely that you’ve become accustomed to disregarding any romantic comedy starring Katherine Heigl. It’s become clear that her presence in Knocked Up was a freak occurrence, with every single try since then — 27 Dresses, The Ugly Truth and most likely Killers — falling well short of the mark. However, this Greg Berlanti (Brothers and Sisters, Eli Stone) directed comedy Life As We Know It might be her saving grace. Yes, I know I said the same thing about The Ugly Truth based on the involvement of Gerard Butler — but just go with it.

Aside from giving away almost the entire story, the first trailer (embedded below) has a remarkable amount of charm. The story follows Holly (Heigl) and Eric (Josh Duhamel), two people whose paths cross momentarily for one painful date, then seemingly never again. That is until their mutual friends die and leave them with their young daughter to raise. As these things go, they are forced to come together for the good of the child and along the way, they find love. Or something like that, I’m sure. The premise is thin, but again, there’s something charming about this trailer. It lacks the gloss and pretense of Heigl’s past efforts and suggests an honesty that we know is possible from a storyteller like Greg Berlanti. In short, it’s worth keeping an eye on.

Life As We Know It will be in theaters December 22, 2010.