He comes alive only in sex scenes with Kurylenko and with an old flame, a rancher played by Rachel McAdams.

NEWYORKER: Commitments

"As Henry VIII discovered, with at least two of his wives, this is the perfect place to bring an old flame, " Mr Johnson said.

BBC: Highwire act Boris Johnson defies political gravity

Laetitia plans to see her parents there but has a secret agenda to rekindle the memory of an old flame she calls the Shady Sailor.

NEWYORKER: The Shady Sailor

Shortly after the end of the Second World War, a reporter named Jake Geismer (George Clooney) returns to Berlin, where he meets an old flame named Lena Brandt (Cate Blanchett).

NEWYORKER: The Good German

The movie presents itself as a stack of character studies, but the leads are constructed from layers of impassive cool, and the roles for women a shrink, an old flame are comically fleeting.

NEWYORKER: Infernal Affairs

Now, an old flame has the country's heart.

WSJ: America's new love: Water

Johnny is about to be a father, Gus is a suave man yet to settle down and Linville is a young man initially more focused on his work though soon to meet an old flame.

BBC: Babyfather plays with stereotypes

Okay, maybe not everyone, some just want to stay in touch with their kids halfway across the country, or meet new people with common interests, or reconnect with a pal from elementary school, or keep tabs at their own risk on an old flame, or support a political cause.

FORBES: Facebook After the IPO