'What If' - Review

What If (formerly titled The F Word) is an American rom-com starring Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan as Wallace and Chantry, a pair that meet at a mutual friends party and share an immediate spark, with just one problem: Chantry is already in a committed relationship with boyfriend Ben (Rafe Spall). Unsure of what to do and constantly given bad advice by best friend Allan (Adam Driver), Wallace considers how best to inform Chantry of his feelings without ruining their meaningful friendship.

At first, one could be forgiven for thinking that What If is going to be one of those movies that mopes about men being ‘stuck in the friend-zone’ or about how the girlfriend doesn’t know what’s best for her, but luckily, no such thing occurs. This is due mostly to an incredibly sharp and witty script from Elan Mastai, which provides a level of satire, charm and strains of a very dark sense of humour.  While the plot itself may feel very formulaic, the writing elevates it far above its generic origins, and indeed many of the characters (with the possible exception of Rafe Spall as the boyfriend) manage to avoid feeling like the ‘insert tab A into slot B’ figures that populate 80% of rom-coms.

Even disregarding the script, Radcliffe and Kazan share brilliant chemistry on-screen that really sells the characters, bringing them far beyond the usual stereotypes, and shows that romantic leads needn’t have serious life problems to garner our sympathy (I’m looking at you, Fault in Our Stars). Radcliffe is really maturing as an actor, and it’s refreshing to see him in something post-Potter that doesn’t involve horror, misery or death. Kazan as Zoe is enjoyable to watch, never feeling subsidised in favour of focusing purely on Wallace, and Adam Driver as Wallace’s is terrific, delivering a mixture of crude sexual humour and pseudo-philosophy that brings out the biggest laughs in the film.

Unfortunately the film still falls into a select few of the typical rom-com tropes. As well as the aforementioned formulaic tone, it is shot in a soft-focus, overly-clean manner and everyone always has perfect skin, perfect hair, no matter if they’ve just woken up or climbed out of the sea. The long list of predictable set-pieces also makes this 98-minute comedy feel an awful lot longer. While many have drawn comparisons between this film and 500 Days of Summer, What If lacks the melancholic undertone and recognisable awkwardness of young love that the former captured much more effectively.

While not without many flaws, What If is a harmless and ultimately successful comedy that transcends generic beginnings thanks to remarkable chemistry between the two leads, an enjoyable script and a healthy amount of bawdy humour scattered throughout. It won’t change your world, but it will provide enough laughs and charm without feeling stagnant, bringing to bear better developed characters than half the films currently filling up your multiplex.

3 stars