The marvel of a rom-com like “Honeymoonish” is that such a unicorn exists.

It’s a polished, slick and beautifully-mounted Kuwaiti comedy that bends Hollywood rom-com traditions to an Islamic, Middle Eastern sensibility. Films like this from Indonesia, Malaysia and various film industries of the Middle East are more proof of the common currency that some Western entertainment traditions (Shakespeare was a fair hand at romance with laughs) have become.

But what’s fascinating about “Honeymoonish” is the Kuwaitiness of it all.

A beautiful young personal trainer (Nour Al Ghandour) says goodbye to her great love Yusef (Faisal Almezel) who is off on another “business trip,” this one to Lebanon. But then her bestie Amal (Ascia Al Faraj) finds Instagram posts of Yusef on his HONEYMOON — a new bride, someone Noor and Amal went to school with.

Yusef’s run off and married his cousin.

Noor freaks, demands that Amal “find me a husband” so that she can marry “right now” and show that Yusef a thing or two.

That “I want a husband in 24 hours” thing just might work out because Amal’s husband (Mahdi Barwiz) is besties with Hamad (Mahmoud Boushahri), a rich financial planner hoping to inherit Daddy’s business, or set up shop on his own.

Dad’s “traditional.” In his culture, at least. He’s had a few wives and is adamant about what he wants from his 30something son.

“Unless you get married in one week and show me a sonogram of my GRANDson,” the kid can forget about inheriting that business.

That leads to a blind date, a rash proposal and a quickie wedding.

But Noor is keeping a secret. This Lebanese mountain resort she insists they honeymoon at just happens to be where the feckless Yusef is honeymooning.

Hamad’s “secret?” His auntie and her mother met just after the wedding, and in a flash they wonder if Hamad hasn’t just rushed off and married his “sister.”

A distinctly Middle Eastern/Islamic twist in this “secret” is how “siblings” are defined. Apparently, if your mother wetnurses another child for X-number of days, she or he is your sister or brother.

Their honeymoon will be hobbled by her desire to shame and win back her beloved, and avoid Hamad’s embraces as she does, and his need to keep things chaste — no little blue pills and what those can lead to — until his auntie reports back.

The framiing device here, these two bickering and demanding an Islamic divorce and narrating “how we got here,” is cutesie and cloying and like much of what we see in Elie Semaan’s film — derivative, borrowed from decades if not a century of rom-coms.

The modern sheen of the film is saddled to a story that feels 1930s quaint by Hollywood standards. She’s taking yoga classes and wearing form-fitting exercise suits and casual wear, but conspicuously avoiding swimsuits, and not just because she can’t swim. His little blue pills (Has he SEEN Noor?) are as close to anything sexual that might possibly transpire. Somehow.

Any suggestions that Islamic tradition rules their lives is watered-down. The elaborate hairdos of the women and Alam’s large collection of tattoos give that liberalization away.

But the complications are overly-contrived and bickering and zingers (in Arabic, or dubbed into English) are entirely too tame for Western viewers to be more than lightly amused by any of this.

Any “raciness” here would-be coupling that is directed towards pregnancy.

“Our hotel works magic on its guests. They arrive as two people, and leave as THREE!”

Whatever its shortcomings — broad performances included — a little “one must walk before one runs” tolerance is due for any Around the World with Netflix traveler.

The production values — especially the hair, makeup, wardrobe and Kuwait-as-Lebanon locations (soundstages, with maybe some second unit mountainout Cedars of Lebanon footage) — and intent suggest a changing culture and a modernized-in-a-flash cinema that will reflect that.

Maybe the next Kuwaiti rom-com will have a bit more “romp” in it.

Rating: TV-PG, adult situations and humor

Cast: Nour Al Ghandour, Mahmoud Boushahri, Ascia Al Faraj,
Mahdi Barwiz and Faisal Almezel

Credits: Directed by Elie Semaan, scripted by Eiad Saleh and Ramy Ali. A Netflix release.

Running time: 1:40