User Reviews

Pra quem já foi a queridinha das comédias românticas, é como sentar num divã e rever sua filmografia. Meg Ryan continua com timing para discutir relações, mesmo com diálogos muito fracos que não dão conta do potencial. A premissa é simples: um ex casal se vê obrigado a passar um tempo juntos para realizarem uma DR após terem seus respectivos voos atrasados. Calro que o roteiro vai fantasiar e facilitar esse encontro, com direito a pitadas fantasiosas (mas em termos de cinema, até que ficaram divertidas as facilitadora, pois o foco não é esse). Claustrofóbico às vezes, é um filme que passa rápido, mas as falas do casal e essa interminavel DR não se aprofundam nunca, inclusive na primeira metade quase me fazem desistir. Aqui, merecia um tato mais adulto mesmo, pois é um pós romance, é algo sobre maturidade, experiência e não simplesmente uma DR quase adolescente. Ainda bem que os atores têm carisma o suficiente para segurar as pontas.

“What Happens Later” is the second film directed by actress Meg Ryan, who also writes the screenplay here together with Kirk Lynn and Steve Dietz (it is based on an interesting play by the latter). Meg Ryan (s) mythologises, overturns or evolves, in a bitter and disillusioned way, the idea of 90s romantic comedies (even her famous comedies), making a story in which she fully reflects herself personal. The screenplay, between tears and smiles, reflects on what happens when the years pass and those old comedies become the reverberation of a very distant happiness; on what happens when love stops burning; about what happens when the dream ends and your youth is lost too. “What Happens Later” is a sort of "showdown", of an individual/sentimental balance sheet, characterized by melancholy and regret, because the choices made will have a retrospective impact whose weight and lightness will be felt. The film oscillates between moments of a classic romantic comedy and more serious and reflective moments, without the two tonal components of the story reaching real harmony, without these being amalgamated properly. However, on the other hand, the fragility of this work also becomes its strong point. Furthermore, the pair of actors, Meg Ryan and David Duchovny, are attractive and believable. Some dialogues are engaging. However, some aesthetic and narrative choices are much less effective. In conclusion, overall a film that is not entirely successful, but with its own dignity and a romantic and "magical" soul, full of poignant tenderness and melancholy that excites in its own way. Rating (in tenths): 5.50 / 6

Loved this heartfelt comedy drama. Characters have great chemistry and it feels like a believable storyline with a magical element. Meg Ryan is back!

IN A NUTSHELL: I’ve often wondered what it would be like to randomly run into my old flames. Have you? Well, that’s what this movie explores when Willa and Bill see each other for the first time in years when they’re snowed in at an airport. The film was directed by Meg Ryan and stars America’s Sweetheart herself. She wrote the script with Steven Dietz and Kirk Lynn based on a play by Dietz called “Shooting Star.” THINGS I LIKED: It’s great seeing Meg Ryan in another rom-com. It’s been 8 years. My favorite rom-com of hers is You’ve Got Mail. David Duchovny always does a great job and fits this role very well. The setting of an airport is the perfect location for this couple to meet again. The analogy of baggage rings loud and clear. We learn more about each of these characters slowly as the layers of their lives are stripped away from the surface-level conversations of the beginning. I thought it was cute when David Duchovny’s character unplugged an electronic poster that advertised a movie called “Rom Com” in order to use the outlet for his cell phone. There is some subtle, welcome humor, mostly coming from amusing announcements on the PA system. Fun fact: This was filmed at an airport in Arkansas. I could definitely relate to being stranded in an airport. Life completely pauses. Many years ago, I was stranded with some other college students at the Denver airport due to a snowstorm. Flights were canceled and we wandered around, hoping there would be a magical break in the weather that would allow us to go on our way. We ended up sleeping on the floor because the chairs had permanent armrests that made it impossible to be comfortable. I remember waking up to the sound of an older woman asking, “Are they asleep? Poor dears.” The end of the movie shows these words: “For Nora”, offering a loving tribute to the late Nora Ephron, her former mentor. The ending is sweet, touching, and appropriate. THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE: The rom-com genre usually features a charming couple falling in love. What we get here, instead, is talk of how a couple used to be in love. Of course, there is a remnant of that love, but we don’t get the same satisfaction as we would if the outlook for a romantic future were possible with this pair. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t much chemistry between the two very different characters, which made you wonder how they ever got together in the first place. Because it’s a rom-com, we want the couple to kiss, yet we know it would be entirely improper because one of them is married. A lot of the banter is only mildly entertaining. The dialogue mostly reveals past mistakes and pain mingled with regrets and sad arguments. I feel terrible saying this but Meg Ryan’s facial plastic surgery is super distracting. She was perfect before and didn’t need to do anything to her beautiful face. TIPS FOR PARENTS: Kids will be bored and certainly not be able to relate to this relationship. Some adults will be super bored too. (Fair warning) Profanity and several F-bombs Talk of premarital relations Talk of giving away a baby born out of wedlock Infidelity

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Too dull and no substance, Actors were good in happy scenes but plot not very clear

If you are going into this movie thinking it would have the same sweet quirky comedy with a happy ending as Ryan has been famous for in the past, you will most likely be disappointed. With 2 actors in the entire movie, I found it pretty dull while the 2 chatted and argued for the most of the movie with only one or two sweet moments in the 2 hours of screen time. Meanwhile I found myself distracted trying to find the Meg Ryan in the face of someone who now looks unrecognizable. There were a few holes in the movie, including Ryan’s nonstop “limp” through the whole movie that she blames on arthritis at the age of “49”. I’m pretty sure the movie was targeted for people over the age of 40, the whole movie the characters complained about growing older and their unhappiness based on their life choices. Defiantly not what I would call a “Rom-Com” since there was very little comedy. Sad I spent the money to see this,

Meg Ryan and David Duchovny play characters who were lovers during their college years. After all this time, they run into each other at a regional airport. When the flights get delayed, they spend the evening roaming around the facility and chatting about old times. This is Ryan's first feature since 2015 (she also directed). The quirky charm that made her romcom characters so appealing has been replaced by a **** free spirit with issues (and those hard-to-handle plastic looks). Ironically, Duchovny does better with the few comic moments that manage to emerge. Otherwise, it's pretty much a predictable two-hander without any surprises in the story, dialogue or performances. The "magical" moments featuring the airport announcer don't add anything. This film was adapted from a play and being grounded (literally and metaphorically) keeps the interactions from ever soaring.

The pair have good banter and I’ve always been a Meg Ryan fan so it’s nice to see her back in the genre. Gets a little goofy and drawn out by the end, but overall it’s an easy watch.