What If? does nothing to reinvent the romantic comedy genre. In fact aside from a few animated flourishes it stays in its own humble lane, humming along pleasantly while chugging towards the goal of attaining low key yet amiable entertainment.
But dang if Daniel Radcliffe isn’t all kinds of lovely…
Radcliffe plays Wallace, a young man broken by love and taking his sweet time getting over it. When he runs into Chantry at a party, sparks fly and moments are had, but a pleasant conversation and a convivial walk home ends on a down note with the revelation that Chantry already has a steady boyfriend.
Her genuine happiness in her love life should be a problem for Wallace, instead he embraces the friendzone, and they bond and strengthen a relationship built on common interests, urbane cutesy dialogue and the pent up sexual frustration that neither of them seem to acknowledge.
Everyone else does though, the boyfriend, Wallace’s stoner mate, Chantry’s sister.
Can Wallace and Chantry enjoy a long and warm friendship, or will Wallace overcome the evil and towering wall of the friendzone? Does anyone out there actually not know the answer to that question?
What If? exhibits something of a best case for romantic comedies, it has some forgettable characters, but no-one worthy of hatred. It has a lot of witty, droll and self-effacing dialogue – most of it emanating from the delightful Radcliffe – but no smarm or mean spirited stuff. There are only a few jokes peppered throughout a plot that will only ever go from A to B, but the journey is OK, albeit formulaic.
The key to the film is Radcliffe, who I obviously know as Harry Potter, but have never seen in anything aside from his very solid rendition of a Blackalicious song on Fallon’s show, which is ultimately the reason I gave this film a shot in the first place. He has the Hugh Grant bumbling, the Jay Baruchel vulnerability and the awkward bookworm good looks, all assets in romantic comedies, however his biggest strength is he actually seems to give a shit. Even the lamest dialogue sounds plausible coming from him, and where you would never doubt Ryan Gosling’s ability to land the girl, Radcliffe is just ordinary enough that you worry for him, and just lovely enough to take him home to meet your mum.
The only What If? I took from the film was ‘what if’ I had never seen Radcliffe busting some rhymes? I would never have seen What If? – no huge loss there – but I would also never have had my eyes opened to what a charming and delightful young man he obviously is…
Final Rating – 7 / 10. Most people used Harry Potter as their Radcliffe gateway drug. I found him rapping to an obscure track on a late night talk show – and now I’m hooked.
