Wonderfully offbeat film!

Too much of everything

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Blistering performances.

Two awkward people meet at a party and become friends. In the long celebrated tradition of romantic movies, a man and a woman can't be good friends without also falling in love. The fact that they are both beautiful and funny and smart is just the side effect of it being a film.Even if it was that formulaic, I enjoyed the banter and the romantic tension and, after all, it was exactly what I expected from the whole thing, so I can't fault it. All the actors were good at it and the casting was almost perfect. Would I have preferred it a little bit more realistic and applicable to life as we know it? Definitely yes. But as such it wasn't a bad movie and I enjoyed watching it.

This film tells the story of a man who is mending his broken heart after finding out his ex-girlfriend cheating on him. He meets a lovely lady with a boyfriend. They want to stay as friends but they both want more than just friends.It sounds like a promising story, but I find the resultant film boring and annoying. The dialog and the plot made my eyes roll in exasperation so many times because they are so stupid and unbelievable. Am I really supposed o be entertained by the mean and horrible supporting characters, called Allan and Nicole? Or is it that interesting to see the two people in the spotlight just meandering their way through their life? I watched the whole film and it did not get better. I was so disappointed by this film, and could not wait for it to end.

Set in Toronto, WHAT IF? centers on Wallace (Daniel Radcliffe) who develops a close friendship with Chantry (Zoe Kazan), yet finds himself unable to fall in love with her due to her long-term relationship with boyfriend Ben (Rafe Spall). Wallace and Chantry are thrown together a lot - especially when Ben takes a job in Dublin - and feelings develop between them. The rest, as they say, is history.Michael Dowse's production has some sharp dialogue, especially involving Wallace and his best friend Allan (Adam Driver). Likewise Chantry develops a close relationship with her sister Dalia (Megan Park): Dalia at one point attempts a one-night stand with Wallace, but Wallace proves too enduringly attached to Chantry.Daniel Radcliffe doesn't have to do much in the film, apart from adopting an endearingly hang-dog expression whenever circumstances conspire against him. Likewise Kazan has a limited range of facial expressions ranging from quizzical to slightly aggrieved. The stand- out characterization in the film is that of Driver, a tall, rangy young man with a taste for salty conversation who ends up "settling down" with Nicole (Mackenzie Davis).The film is way too long - we end up yearning for the predictable end to take place - but the Toronto locations are atmospheric. WHAT IF? is one of those films that passes the time but nothing else.

There might be a rebound in the popularity of this movie when it features several memorial conversations between "Kylo Ren" and "Harry Potter." I personally resonate with the story, as with, perhaps, those who witnessed the liquid love in the age of global division and collaboration of labors as well as the loneliness and diaspora that come along. The blurred yet articulated lines between friendship and love affair are handled pretty well in the story.There also seems to be a trend nowadays for movies to peppered with animations and imaginative scenes that did not really happened. These ideas are implemented elegantly here in proportion to the reality of what actually happened.Yet, speaking of the reality, the only beef I have with this lovely movie is that people seem to live in a time with no instant texting or even email. Perhaps the minimal usage of mobile devices in the story is intentional, given how many movies embrace this technological scene of simultaneity nowadays. However, it does leave some discrepancy in the plot as to why people do all those surprise visits without any advance notice.All in all I enjoy the movie and recommend it to those who also enjoy a good romance that are increasingly rare these days.