In the highly imperfect world of contemporary romantic comedies,
What If
is as close to perfect as anything we've got, not least for the way it
captures the abject hopefulness of young people who'd like to be in love
but don't know how to go about it. Who
does know how to go about
it? Perhaps that explains the near-universal appeal of romantic
comedies, at least when they're done well. And while
What If does
have its blemishes -- there are times when it's just too cute for its
own good -- it's so enjoyable from moment to moment that it's easy to
forgive. There's no anguish so delectable as that of meeting the right
person at the wrong time, and
What If gets it.
Daniel Radcliffe's
Wallace
is a would-be doctor who left medical school after a messy breakup sent
him 'round the bend. An expat Englishman, he's been squirreling himself
away in his sister's attic, spending too much of his time sitting on
the roof and staring out at the Toronto skyline. One night, at a party
hosted by a friend (the ubiquitous
Adam Driver), he and an attractive young woman meet cute over a set of refrigerator poetry magnets.
Zoe Kazan's
Chantry is an animator -- whimsy alert! -- and the two strike up one of
those all-too-believable flirtations that skitters around madly like a
Tickle Bee toy. She seems to like him, but she won't allow him to make a
move. Later, he spots her getting her coat, and he darts over to grab
his. "I was just leaving without saying good-bye, like a total dick," he
says a little too eagerly, even though it's obvious she was going to be
the first to split.
Read more
For
more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?
I recently discovered that actress Katherine Heigl and I have a lot in common.
