The opening vignette, "Sure Thing", features Carson Elrod and Liv Rooth as two apparently single people meeting in a cafe.

WSJ: Review: 'All in the Timing' has wordplay and wit

David Elrod, a Dallas trial lawyer, says he prefers to wear forward-point collars with suits and ties rather than spread collars.

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"I try to dress more conservative in the courtroom, " Mr. Elrod says.

WSJ: Guide to Men's Shirt Collars: Which Styles Go With Which Occasions and Flatter the Face

Norm Elrod was "devastated, " he wrote on his blog -- called "Jobless and Less" -- when he spotted "little plastic covers on the electrical outlets, secured with little padlocks" at Espresso 77.

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Ives' clever wordsmithing is profoundly on display in "The Universal Language", where a timid, stuttering woman, (Jenn Harris), visits the nutty instructor (Elrod) of a class in the artificial language he calls Unamunda.

WSJ: Review: 'All in the Timing' has wordplay and wit

Ives has mastered dozens of comical ways a pick-up attempt can flame out, and while Rooth's character has heard it all before, Elrod's determination to get to a "yes" lends poignancy to the humor.

WSJ: Review: 'All in the Timing' has wordplay and wit