BLIND DATING — ** — Chris Pine, Anjali Jay, Eddie Kaye Thomas; rated PG-13 (vulgarity, profanity, violence, brief sex, ethnic slurs, brief gore).

There's actually a sweet little romantic comedy at the core of "Blind Dating," fighting its way to get out of the cruder, crasser outer shell.

Unfortunately, the makers of this independently produced comedy weren't content to let the film be a simple, sweet romance. So they added sexual and scatological humor that leaves a pretty bad aftertaste.

The film's title is an awfully bad pun that refers to the lovelife of a young blind man, Danny (Chris Pine). He's determined to overcome his disability but he's ridiculously unlucky at love.

That may explain why Danny is considering undergoing experimental surgery, which, if successful, might give him some limited vision. And that's how he meets Leeza (Anjali Jay), a lovely Indian-American receptionist.

The two hit it off and appear headed for romance, but unfortunately there's one thing standing in their way — Leeza's tradition-minded parents, who have arranged for her to marry another Indian-American, Arvind (Sendhil Ramamurthy, from TV's "Heroes").

But all of this is marred by the film's surprisingly heavy emphasis on the sleaze factor. Danny's brother Larry (Eddie Kaye Thomas) is essentially a pimp, and his shrink (Jane Seymour) is a sexually frustrated spinster who strips her clothes off in his presence.

Neither of these things are particularly funny, yet the film keeps coming back to them in an attempt to mine a few cheap laughs. And director James Keach and screenwriter Christopher Theo eventually forget about the romance.

As for Pine ("Just My Luck") and relative newcomer Jay, they're attractive leads, but their best efforts are continually undermined by this material. And it is sort of fun to see several recognizable Utah locations (the film was shot mostly in Ogden).

"Blind Dating" is rated PG-13 for prevalent crude humor (including a pair of dog-doo jokes and a condom gag), some sexually suggestive language (profanity and references), brief violence (fisticuffs and some slapstick), brief simulated sex (mostly overheard), a few ethnic slurs, and some brief bloodiness. Running time: 95 minutes.

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E-mail: jeff@desnews.com