‘What Happens Later’ Review: Meg Ryan’s Disappointing RomCom

As leaves pile on the ground and the November breeze cools the weather, the holiday spirit fills the streets. Snowflakes falling on the screen as the film begins builds excitement at the prospect of a fun movie fitting the upcoming season. These hopes quickly vanish at the clumsy first interaction between the lovers of the new romantic comedy directed, written by, and starring Meg Ryan. Neither the genre or the script of “What Happens Later” were up to the task of what could have been an interesting concept: A storyline solely based on a conversation between two characters taking place in only one setting throughout the film.

Stranded by a snow storm in a remote airport, Bill (David Duchovny) and Willa (Meg Ryan), have the opportunity to reconnect 25 years after their breakup. From the moment Bill sees her, through the reflection of a screen that moments ago had the words “RomCom” on it, the awkwardness of the script shines through. Given that the entire plot is a conversation between Bill and Willa, the film heavily relies on dialogue. Yet, an almost completely silent and unresponsive audience at the theater makes it clear that the attempts at comedy, such as the interaction between the airport technology and the couple — as messages on the screens or the speaker talked directly to them — were unsuccessful.

The way the dialogue jumps into heavy topics at times, only to prematurely break the tension with jokes that are out of place or inappropriate reactions, prevents themes, such as aging, parenthood, and anxiety, that could have given the film a deeper undertone from developing. It is clear that the characters are stuck in the airport until they find a way to love each other again and resolve all their existential crises. However, the dull and seemingly endless rant in which the conversation consists makes the audience feel as though they are stuck too. The scarce moments that could have been used to build some expectation, such as when Willa answers Bill's phone and it turns out to be his wife calling, are lost within the failed attempt at creating the funny dialogue characteristic of a romcom.

The film’s soundtrack further accentuates the blandness of the plot: A series of similar songs that are reminiscent of a waiting room, which though fitting to the setting, are monotonous throughout the movie, with the exception of one scene when the characters are drunk and fooling around in the airport. This is one of the only moments when the music approaches the rock that both Bill and Willa keep referring to throughout the film as the throwback to their youth. As the dialogue between the characters centered around their shared love of rock music, the film fell short in including more of the genre during impactful moments between the couple. This lack of variety or connection to the characters’ personalities makes the soundtrack fade in the background.

Some cinematography choices had pleasing yet unfitting effects: During scenes where the lightning resembles the warm glow of sunset, facial expressions are beautifully enhanced. However, this lightning does not correspond with the dark stormy night that the story takes place in. This, along with camera angles that are painfully static, with just the two main characters in the center of the screen, chest up, for most of the film, and distracting frame cuts showcase the film’s editing shortcomings.

The characters’ behavior during several scenes, for instance when Willa simply smiles at Bill after throwing a tantrum, seem incongruent and unlikely to happen in real life. If Willa’s childish tendencies were trying to point at how aging is perceived or to criticize the social clock, the theme was not prioritized enough for this to be evident. If that was not the intention at all, then the audience is just left confused at such behavior from a 50-year-old. Lack of physicality during climactic moments of emotion similarly resulted in a flat portrayal of the characters. Bill screaming at the airport’s speaker “what is the point?” was a clear reference to finding purpose during the stagnation of a midlife crisis; yet, the absence of palpable rage or frustration resulted in the audience being able to see Duchovny instead of Bill on screen

It is hard to please and easy to disappoint when it comes to romantic comedies. It is only fair to recognize that there were heartwarming moments during the film, as was watching the couple cuddle together when remembering their miscarried daughter, and occasional laughter at their dancing or references to pop culture. As the film highlights the work of award-winning and renown rom-com star Meg Ryan taking over three structural categories of filmmaking, “What Happens Later” raises the question of in which direction will the trend of actors taking charge of several roles of production take the film industry. The weakness of the script, along with editing faults, does not shine the best light at Ryan’s second attempt as a director.