Stars Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Michelle Pfeiffer, Olivia Wilde, Michael Hall D’Addario, Mark Dulass. Directed by Alex Kurtzman from a script by Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Jody Lambert. Rated PG-13. 114 minutes. Critic’s grade: C+

While appealing on some levels, and well acted, the comic drama “People Like Us” feels a bit dishonest, building its emotional tension from a complication that might have been cleared up through a single, quick conversation. Sam Harper, the smooth-talking, unethical New York salesman played by Chris Pine (“Star Trek”) easily enough could have told pretty, harried single mom Frankie (Elizabeth Banks), a struggling cocktail waitress, the truth about their relationship: The two are half-siblings, born to a successful Los Angeles rock ‘n’ roll producer father who never publicly acknowledged the existence of his daughter or her smart but troublesome son Josh (Michael D’Addario).

Sam, back home in Laurel Canyon for the funeral of his dad, and staying with his seemingly cold mother (Michelle Pfeiffer), a former singer and rock scenester, has momentarily split from his girlfriend, Hannah (Olivia Wilde), who’s back in New York after an argument with her beau. That allows Sam plenty of time to “accidentally” run into Frankie at an AA meeting and elsewhere, befriend her, and burrow his way into the lives of her and Josh. It feels a little creepy, for her as well as the audience, as their meetings and growing friendship come off as the start of a romance. Making Sam even less likable: He almost keeps the $150k that his dad left for his secret grandson.

Kurtzman (a writer on “Cowboys & Aliens,” “Star Trek,” “Transformers” and other films) effectively juggles the various dysfunctional relationships, and, in nicely handled subplot, follows a passion for music as it travels down the generations — Sam inherits his father’s collection of classic rock vinyl, and in turn helps introduce Josh to the likes of the Clash, Television and the Buzzocks. Best of all, the filmmaker cleverly uses the various settings — homes and restaurants in Laurel Canyon and other mostly non-Hollywood neighborhoods — as another character in the film, a real-life, lived-in Los Angeles that one seldom sees in the movies.  The final twist may center on an off-the-charts coincidence, but “People Like Us” still    makes for a humane, entertaining diversion.