Early on in What Happens Later, David Duchovny's character needs power in an airport. He finds a digital kiosk with a rom-com ad on it before he unplugs. If there was ever a metaphor for Meg Ryan's What Happens Later, it was this moment.
What Ryan does with her return to the genre that made her an icon is deconstruct the rom-com. It's not just because of the ages of the actors involved —which is part of it — but the story it tells. What Happens Later isn't a sappy rom-com about two ex-lovers rekindling that flame. It plays out a scenario of finding closure, even a quarter-decade later.
What is What Happens Later about?
Bill (David Duchovny) is one a trip to meet with his boss. Effected by the Gen Z takeover, he is struggling to find his place in a world that is seemingly running right by him. He's planning on meeting with his boss and hashing things out.
Meanwhile, Willa (Meg Ryan) is a nature-loving masseuse. She'd probably get along with Aaron Rodgers given her naturalistic world views and the self-help aphorisms she spews.
They both happen to be in an airport when their flights get delayed. Bill is flying from Boston to Austin, Texas, while Willa is flying from Austin, Texas to Boston. Each have their own separate journeys they are on, as has been the case for close to a quarter-decade (depending on which you ask).
As fate would have it, the two encounter each other. While it's initially awkward — as encountering an ex always is — the two begin to recollect about the past (which they each remember very differently). The delays add up thanks to the ongoing snow storm and they spend the night together reliving their past and conquering their demons.
What Happens Later review
And it's an effective tale at that. Ryan, who's known for her roles in rom-coms such as When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and You've Got Mail, brings her sensitivities to the directors' chair. It's a genre she understands, and she shows it in the script she co-wrote with Steven Dietz and Kirk Lyrin.
The script is not without flaws — the God-like PA speaker bit loses its charm after the first few announcements — but there's a real care for where the characters of Bill and Willa are in their life. Perhaps Ryan now being in her sixties further shows her understanding of this material.
A stageplay served as the inspiration of the script, and it shows. Taking place in one location, What Happens Later is a character-driven piece that only focuses on its subjects. They both have their own lives and secrets, but they are never shown. The film plays like a stageplay in the way that the likes of Glengarry Glen Ross and One Night in Miami did. And in a way, the film feels like the Truman Show of rom-coms given its meta PA voice that guides the two characters.
That's not to suggest that What Happens Later doesn't have filmic qualities. Meg Ryan's direction and Bartosz Nalazek's cinematography attempt to add flare to scenes that would otherwise be mundane. There's one instance where the camera shifts between Bill and Willa as they quip back and forth. It's done very briefly, and perhaps sprinkling in choices like that a little more would have gone a long way.
No turbulence
The score, which was composed by David Boman, subtly assists with tension in What Happens Later. Every once in a while, Willa or Bill drop a bombshell — particularly when it comes to elements of their relationship. For example, Bill passive-aggressively throws darts about having to “share” Willa during their relationship.
She clearly takes offense to the comment. But what Bill means by that doesn't become clear until later. Even then, the final uncomfortable truth isn't revealed until even later than that. With each dart comes a sharp turn from Boman's score. It's not over-aggressive in a way that's distracting to the viewer, but it gets the point across.
It's all tied together by the wonderful chemistry that David Duchovny and Ryan share. The film wouldn't work if they didn't click, and they sell the fact that they are exes who haven't seen each other in 25 years. The bickering that they do doesn't outweigh the love that they have for each other — even if they're not together.
Should you watch What Happens Later?
You may watch the trailer for What Happens Later and assume it's for an older demographic. Yes, stars of the past like Meg Ryan and David Duchovny star in the film, but there are valuable lessons that people of any age can learn.
Communication is key. 25-ish years go by between Bill and Willa's last encounter. If they had easily talked things out a lot of heartache could have been avoided.
Even if you don't want to watch What Happens Later for its life lessons, it's still a charming film. I doubt anyone would expect a rom-com that reaches the heights of Ryan's peak, but it's a very mature film much akin to the rom-com Rye Lane. The mushiness of a general rom-com is absent in this film, and that's all because two adults are sleepless in an airport for 105 minutes.
Not to mention, the film absolutely sticks the landing and very rarely hits any turbulence.
Grade: B+
What Happens Later is in theaters now.
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