WHAT IF?

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.