Basically…
Zoe Kazan (Chantry) and Wallace (Daniel
Radcliffe) become friends after meeting at a party. She has a boyfriend though,
so despite them being perfect for each other the pair agree to just be friends.
This in turn obviously comes with its problems.
In other words…
A modern day When Harry Met Sally.
The main men and leading ladies…
So used to playing dark characters (The Woman
in Black, Kill Your Darlings) or those from a different walk of life (Horns and umm,
well Harry Potter), this is an unusually upbeat and lighter role for Radcliffe
which he surprisingly pulls off convincingly. Kazan (most recently seen in Ruby
Sparks) is sweet, cute and extremely likable which is needed for a genre
pitched at girls.
In the chair…
Canada’s Michael
Dowse is forming a cult following for his previous local success stories Fubar
and Goon, but not many would have been prepared for his swing towards the
romcom genre. He said he wanted to subvert the bad clichés, rather than the
genre itself and he did just that.
So…?
Let’s get one thing straight. This is no
comparison to 500 Days of Summer. Yes it’s warm and quirky but it’s not warm
and quirky to a 500 Days level – Super Joe or no Super Joe. But in saying that it
has all the ingredients of a successful and fulfilling romcom. Exploring the
age old debate can men and women be just
friends, it’s another stab at a popular story. It’s believable, it’s easy
to relate to and there are moments of real sexual tension and chemistry between
Kazan and Radcliffe. The latter being strangely endearing throughout actually,
despite his wooden nature. It’s at the top end of the scale when it comes to
chick flicks but it’s downfall is how much it tries to squeeze in. Too much
happens (flights to the other side of the world? Really?) and there are no real
surprises, but plot twists aren't really what you sign up to with a movie like
What If.
Worth the money?
No romcom is worth
the money unless that’s exactly what you’re after. But if it’s what you’re
after then this is a stand out.
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