What Happens Later Review
Theatrical Movie Review - Rom-Com
I grew up in the golden age of the romantic comedy. Nora Ephron was out there, cranking out one hit after another. We had Julia Roberts and Renee Zellweger, but most of all, we had Meg Ryan. She stars in pretty much all of my favorite rom-coms from back in the day, and her absence from the screen in recent years has been a disappointment to someone like me who really loves her. So I was thrilled to see that she was both directing and starring in “What Happens Later.”
Willa Davis (Meg Ryan) and Bill Davis (David Duchovny) haven’t seen each other for decades, but when they meet at an airport, crossing paths between Boston and Austin, they get stuck together in a snowstorm. They spend a night together, tackling the stories of their past, catching up on where they are now, and looking at where they were headed in the future.
This movie left me with a lot of confused feelings. I will start off by saying that I absolutely loved Ryan and Duchovny in the leading roles. I went in a little wary of Duchovny as the leading man, but honestly, I can’t see anyone else in that role. The two of them had a fantastic chemistry together, running through the awkward feelings of seeing someone you haven’t seen in years to that old familiarity, to even some of the old fights. They were beautiful together.
The way that we as an audience learn about their past is really interesting. This isn’t linear storytelling, which makes it feel more authentic. It takes time to get to some of the harder conversations, so I appreciated the way that various stories came up at unexpected times. It does mean that this movie takes a while to get going because we really don’t know much about either of the characters and we only find out more in dribs and drabs over the first 45 minutes or so. But when it opens up, it is quite lovely.
That said, this was not a total win for me. There is a lot of “kids these days” language that feels grating and dismissive to me. I recognize that the target demographic for this movie probably isn’t the Gen Z set, but I don’t love it when you alienate a whole group by simply dismissing them. Also, and more importantly for me, there was a magical realism element to this movie that did not work for me at all. I thought that it worked in direct opposition to what I felt was a more realistic dialogue.
Look, it is really hard for me to dunk on Meg Ryan. I have loved her for decades and it is impossible for me not to bring some of that love to “What Happens Later.” But like Willa and Bill, I think maybe it’s best to recognize that love was real and valid, but that it belongs in the past.
This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on November 5, 2023.
I loved Meg Ryan of old and am intrigued by her return, but had already decided to wait until it comes to a home screen.