REVIEWS NO-ONE ASKED FOR
by Ashton Brown
WHAT IF dir Michael Dowse
"All this love shit's complicated."
I would post *spoiler alert* but if you actually think this rom-com is going to offer you any suprises then you are picking the wrong movie. Romantic comedy is such a predictable genre. Being a massive emotional wuss, I am not above being affected by it's charm when it has charm to offer. For me, if a rom-com is going to impress, it needs to be brave enough to move away from the predictable, try and avoid an ending we can see coming from the beginning and at least trick me into thinking that it might not work out all roses and chocolates in the end.
What If has some lovely moments. From a comedy perspective - the first half of the film has genuinely sharp, witty writing. Think Gilmore Girls both in the style of writing and the delivery of the dialogue from the leads. What If is the story of the "friendzone" (a term I am reluctant to use as it suggests that a woman's desire to be nothing more than friends with a male is somewhat a problem). We meet broken man Wallace (Daniel Radcliffe), Wallace meets girls at party (Zoe Kazan). She is quirky. She treats guy differently than girls from his past. Girl has boyfriend. Boyfriend isn't a dick. Can they just handle being friends? Hollywood has this wonderful way of constantly trying to convince us ,that men and woman can't possibly have a platonic friendship, and even if they can, in the end they are better off being in a relationship. I hate this notion - not only because of the expectations it sets for us in reality but also because sometimes friendships between opposite genders is awesome and unique and should be appreciated and respected instead of forced to evolve to involve rooting. I spent the whole time thinking that the friendship between the leads was so genuinely good that this film would exceed my expectations if it left them that way.
The chemistry between the leads is good enough - believable even. But for me there were two far more interesting relationships in the movie that I would have rather followed than the typical "will they, won't they" nature of the leads. Wallace and his best friend Allan (the always incredible Adam Driver) have an extremely likeable, believable and interesting bromance. Their chemistry is stronger than that of Wallace & Chantry (yeap that's her name) and I found their dialogue to be more interesting. Similarly Allans relationship with the wonderful Nicole (Mackenzie Davis) is one that begins near the start of the film and is a far more interesting and realistic look into modern relationships. The shortfall for me of What If is that the supporting characters were much, much more interesting than the leads. Having said that, the story has some genuine laughs and Radcliffe does a solid job of Wallace.
I felt the film forced us to want Wallace and Chantry to get together despite failing to provide any reason why they should be. Yes they had chemistry. Yes they laughed at the same shit. But Chantry's chemistry with her boyfriend of 5 years was much more believable and I often found myself struggling to root for Wallace and Chantry. Why can't they just be friends? Why isn't friendship as awesome as a non-platonic relationship? Why can't Hollywood learn to provide us with stories that don't all feel the same way? Why? Why? Why?
Overall What If is great if you are at home sick, feeling sorry for yourself or it's raining outside and you have nothing better to do. It is by no means a bad film. But if you have seen a rom-com, then you have seen this. The opposite sex can be friends. Just not in film.
2.5 out of 5.
