Hollywood has had its share of troubles making touching romances in recent years. But if you want somebody who knows the genre and has been in memorable movie romances, you could do a lot worse than giving Julia Stiles (“Ten Things I Hate About You,” “O,” “Hamlet,” “Save the Last Dance”) a shot at directing one.

Her feature debut is a bittersweet city romance involving graffiti and a love-testing illness.

Jan. 17, we see if she and her stars Isabelle Fuhrman (“The Novice,” “Orphan”), Mena Massoud (“Aladdin,” “Hotel for the Holidays”), Jennifer Grey and Kelsey Grammer deliver.

Having interviewed her a couple of times, I’d betting she pulls it off. The really smart ones pay attention to what works in a script, and what comes off on a set.