Review: What If

Can a man and a woman ever be just friends? Not according to Hollywood, which has made quite a meal of disproving such a scenario. Friendship always has strings attached, benefits included and a happily ever after by the time the end credits roll. What If reaches the inevitable conclusion but does a commendable job of twisting and turning to get there.

Daniel Radcliffe is Wallace, a med-school dropout still in a deep funk from breaking up with his cheating girlfriend over a year ago. Enter Chantry (Zoe Kazan), an artist/animator who is also the cousin of his best friend Allan (Adam Driver). Bonding over refrigerator magnets and trading gentle banter ("You do look pale," Chantry observes after learning of Wallace's self-imposed hibernation from the world. "I just assumed you were anaemic or partially albino."), their connection is palpable. But there's a snag: Chantry has been in a solid five-year relationship with Ben (Rafe Spall), an aspiring diplomat whose latest assignment places him at an emotional and geographic disadvantage over Wallace. As Chantry and Wallace spend more and more time together, can they really keep to their just friends agreement?

What If is an obvious riff on When Harry Met Sally... with two extremely likable leads in Radcliffe and Kazan and strong turns from its supporting cast, especially Driver who gets all the best lines ("I just had sex and I'm about to eat nachos!"). There's a wee bit of raunch and a dash of slapstick that further enliven the proceedings. More slapstick would have been welcome - the bit where Wallace accidentally pushes Ben out the window is a rib-tickler. Ditto for making Ben more of a complication to the duo's coupling. Granted the character isn't written to be an irredeemable jerk as usual, but it's still hard to fathom why Chantry wouldn't end up with Wallace. One thinks of The Philadelphia Story where Katharine Hepburn had both Cary Grant and James Stewart vying for her affections. Hepburn was torn and so was the audience; it raised the stakes and made her final decision both exultant and bittersweet.

An afterthought: the boy meets girl genre doesn't mean casting actors who look like overgrown boys and girls. Not to knock either Radcliffe or Kazan (who are 24 and 30 respectively), but they look like children. Whimsical touches like the animated butterfly fairy or the "I'll look if you look" line do not help matters.

What If

Directed by: Michael Dowse

Written by: Elan Mastai; adapted from T.J. Dawe and Michael Rinaldi's play "Toothpaste and Cigars"

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, Adam Driver, Mackenzie Davis, Rafe Spall, Jemima Rooper, Megan Park