Starring Brittany Murphy, Holly Hunter, and Ron Livingston. Rated general.

Ain't modern technology grand? There are cellular phones, laptops, and, of course, the ever-popular PalmPilot. Great for storing all types of information, the Palm is the technophile's equivalent of the day planner. People keep their lives on these things. Little Black Book traces the ramifications of the electronic footprints we often leave behind.

Doe-eyed Brittany Murphy stars as Stacy, a neurotic Diane Sawyer-- idolizing keener raised by a Carly Simon--obsessed mother. Getting an associate-producer position with daytime trash-television talk-show hostess Kippie Kann (Kathy Bates) is a dream come true for the aspiring newswoman. She is soon learning the ropes with eccentric coworker Barb (Holly Hunter). Stacy's boyfriend, Derek (Ron Livingston), works as a scout for the NHL's New Jersey Devils and carries a past he'd rather keep out of the present. Determined to find out about his previous relationships, Stacy gets the chance when her beau leaves on a business trip.

She rummages through Derek's belongings, including the PalmPilot he left behind. Spurred on by Barb's insistence that "omissions are betrayals", she unscrupulously uses her workplace to find out more about a string of accomplished exes that includes a supermodel, a doctor, and a gourmet chef. By the time Stacy starts feeling guilty about her reconnaissance work, she's gone too far.

Little Black Book is standard romantic comedy, and Murphy, Hunter, and Bates all deliver capable performances, but the dialogue is too pedestrian to elicit much of a reaction from seasoned moviegoers. Julianne Nicholson plays a still-pining ex with much sympathy, but apart from an unfunny dog-farting scene, laughs are scarcer than nonactors at a Jerry Springer taping.

Overall, Little Black Book comes across as a young-adult equivalent of mom "discovering" your diary.