Take Bob Newhart's stuttering pauses, add a British accent and you have Hugh Grant.

Put him in a movie with James Caan and Jeanne Tripplehorn as his prospective father-in-law and wife, respectively, and toss in the mobster element to shake things up a bit, and you have Grant's newest romantic comedy, "Mickey Blue Eyes." (Michelle Pfeiffer already used "Married to the Mob").

Michael Felgate (Grant) runs an auction house in New York and he can't seem to get his artwork delivered on time. Not only are his orders late, but they're incomplete. And his complaints only get him laughed at, and he's also threatened with a beating.

Very much in love with his girlfriend Gina Vitale (Tripplehorn), Michael proposes to her at a Chinese restaurant, and she promptly refuses. So he goes to Little Italy to discuss it with her father, Frank (Caan). This is Michael's first meeting with Gina's father (as she had purposely kept him away), and he is greeted with open arms, not only by Frank, but by the rest of the family — who just so happen to be in Frank's restaurant at the same time.

A lot of things begin to change for Michael — he receives his artwork for that night's auction early one morning, much to his surprise. And the men delivering it trip over themselves, apologizing for all the times Michael received the paintings late.

Soon afterward, the store that regularly delivers the pieces suddenly burns down. And Michael receives a matchbook on his desk from the establishment, with one used match to the side of it. And inside the matchbook, it reads, "Complimenti."

He slowly begins to realize his girlfriend's family is not your ordinary close-knit relations; they're mobsters.

From that point on, Michael tries to find a way to marry his girlfriend without marrying into her family, in effect becoming a mobster himself — which is the real reason she refused to marry him in the first place. And, according to director Kelly Makin, "There's nothing better than Hugh Grant backed into a corner."

Offering a surprisingly strong comedic performance is James Caan, as the mobster most likely to be dressed in a plum purple suit. He fits the role perfectly, from his Italian intonations to waving his arms and hands while he talks. He's definitely the smartest of the mobsters in the movie, and he's richly rewarded with the best lines.

Grant, the obvious draw to this film, does quite well in his usual blundering idiot persona, offering a few twists that seem a bit out of character for him.

He delivers possibly the worst "Fuggedaboutit" in cinematic history. Watch for his impersonation of another British superstar who hit the screen earlier this year — the one who went on a treasure hunt of sorts to reclaim his mojo.

The movie — for the most part — is good, clean fun, although it bears some resemblances to "Analyze This," with Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal.

"Mickey Blue Eyes" is rated PG-13 for some profane language, violence, nude female artwork, some blasphemous artwork and sexual humor.