This is the rare romantic comedy that doesn’t make you want to roll your eyes and have them get it over with already. The overbearing question of “What if?” throughout the movie is enough to get us to want them to admit their loves to each other and to themselves–but we also don’t want them to, because what they have is so funny and touching to watch already–which is a lot of what the main conflict is about.
Chantry, played by Kazan, is dating Ben (Rafe Spall). Which is a problem for our protagonist Wallace (Radcliffe) when he first gets introduced to her at their meet cute, which is at her cousin and his best friend’s party. So the two become best friends instead, and there we have that delicate balance of not wanting to ruin the relationship they already have versus them both wanting more, but the predicament they’re in forcing them to reconsider their feelings. The movie has a terrific ensemble, with a very funny Adam Driver as Wallace’s best friend alternately giving him bad advice and pushing him to go for his dreams. Megan Parks also stars as Chantry’s younger sister, and has a few standout moments of her own. The movie comes to a climax when Chantry is offered a new job in Taiwan, and her boyfriend is in Dublin, and things have come to a point with Wallace where there’s no return.
The movie is adorable, there’s no denying it. But unlike most romantic comedies, we can also feel the gravity of it being a real life situation, who it will hurt if their relationship does–or doesn’t–work out. And thanks to the wonderful acting of Kazan and Radcliffe, we want to be with them the whole way, cheering for them, as they push and pull, rise and fall.
“What If” hits theaters this Friday, August 8.
