What If, which requires him to be just that, is a weird film for him to be doing if not just for the choices he’s made over the last few years – he’s done everything in his power to escape that decade-long role, and this is far and away the most conventional part of his career. Once that strangeness wears off, however, it becomes clear that he’s actually a very good fit for this sort of thing. His Wallace slots into the tried and true tradition of uncomfortable, non-threatening Brits trying their hardest to avoid potentially awkward situations, but he somehow has a little more edge to him than most of the characters Hugh Grant portrayed in the 90s. Wallace is down on his luck when we meet him – single for over a year, in a dead-end job after dropping out of medical school and living in his sister’s attic. One meet-cute later, however, and he’s tangled up in decidedly complicated feelings for the much more ‘together’ Chantry (Ruby Sparks writer and co-star Zoe Kazan), who has given him her number before casually mentioning her solid, five-year-long relationship with live-in boyfriend Ben (Rafe Spall). It’s a worthy entry into the subgenre of friends figuring each other out romantically – a reverse Friends With Benefits if you will – but there’s nothing groundbreaking or particularly subversive here. There’s a nice, gentle B-story of how young, ambitious people must balance love and career, but even that takes a back seat once we’re faced with the question of whether Wallace and Chantry belong together or not. The smaller problems don’t necessarily matter, of course, providing the two leads are charming and affable enough to carry us through, and Radcliffe and Kazan continuously lift the film above the sum of its other parts. The unabashed male focus is a little bit different, too, and this is where our familiarity with the leading man comes in handy. What If isn’t perfect, or even particularly memorable, with some disappointing detours into the over-familiar towards the end and a few convenient resolutions to some of the film’s most refreshing obstacles, negating what could have otherwise set the film apart. The film has plenty of fun with certain outdated rom-com elements but, despite being charming enough, falls for them just as often. What If is out in UK cinemas on the 20th August. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
What If Review
<span title='2025-07-29 00:00:00 +0000 UTC'>July 29, 2025</span> · 2 min · 414 words · Jake Campbell