Title: What If
Year: 2013
Director: Michael Dowse
Screenwriters: Elan Mastai (based on the play Toothpaste And Cigars by T.J. Dawe and Michael Rinaldi
Country: Ireland/Canada
Rating: 15 ("frequent crude sex references") (UK); PG-13 (US)
Premise: Boy meets girl. Girl is already taken. They decide to be "just friends".
There is a lot of likeable material here and it's beautifully played by the two leads. Daniel Radcliffe plays the very decent, likable guy and you need to see Zoe Kazan in the very likeable Ruby Sparks (which she writes and stars in) if you haven't already. It also manages to be funny, both acerbic and crude (but not obnoxiously so). One and ask whether the more slapstick humour has a place (one plot point featured in the trailer featuring Radcliffe sending Rafe Spall out the window doesn't seem to do much for the story except to perhaps suggest an underlying attempt to break him up with Kazan). Some may also question the conclusion the film takes but it at least can bring up a discussion opportunity. There is also one perhaps slightly suspicious line of dialogue that I may well have misheard. The main problem though, is with the editing. There are scenes in which Zoe Kazan's Chantry talks to her sister about what's going on in the film while Radcliffe's Wallace's own family interaction more or less bookends the film with his own sister played in an entirely unexpected (but entirely welcome) appearance by Jemima Rooper. It would be interesting to read the script for the original play on which the screenplay for this film is based, and indeed to read the screenplay itself to compare with the finished product. It would also be interesting to watch any deleted scenes that end up on a home release. But if you're looking for a youth-targeted, witty, feelgood romantic (or is it?) comedy that is actually funny, this is serviceable enough. One to seek out for Valentine's Day if it's available by then.
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