It was charming to see two of my favorite actors from my early adulthood back on the big screen. But, David Duchovny and Meg Ryan are old now so that means I’m… That can’t be right. 🙂
If it wasn’t apparent from the movie preview, this is like a two-person play. The only other person in the movie with a speaking credit is the Airport Voice.
The World's Most Indispensable Movie App
The RunPee app tells you the best times to run & pee during a movie so you don't miss the best scenes.
Read more about the RunPee app.
I’m really happy to see that a movie like this got made and released to theaters. It feels like the sort of movie you could have thrown two relatively unknown actors into and dumped it on a streaming platform for no one to watch. But by casting two well-known stars and releasing it to theaters, it will get the attention it deserves.
As I watched What Happens Later I couldn’t help but think it will primarily appeal to those in their 50’s and 60’s, but I feel that people in their twenties, or younger, can get so much from it. It’s powerful to see people in their 50’s realize that their lives have been profoundly impacted by wrong assumptions they made when they were in their twenties. This is one of those rare movies that provide life lessons far more important than two hours of entertainment.
I wonder if anyone else watching this movie will crave a rewatch of LA Story with Steve Martin and Victoria Tennant, and oh yeah, a very young Sarah Jessica Parker. There were some subtle LA Story vibes throughout the movie. I wonder if it was on purpose.
The acting and pacing in What Happens Later is exceptionally good. It felt real to see how these two characters interacted and how their interactions evolved throughout their time together.
Grade: A-
About The Peetimes:Â This was a dialog-dense movie. Those are always a challenge to find Peetimes for. I have three pretty good Peetimes for you to work with. I think the 2nd and 3rd are the best.
There are no extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of What Happens Later.
| Rated: | (R) Brief Drug Use | Some Sexual References | Language |
| Genres: | Comedy, Romance |
| Starring: | Meg Ryan, David Duchovny |
| Director: | Meg Ryan |
| Writer(s): | Steven Dietz, Kirk Lynn, Meg Ryan |
| Language: | English |
| Country: | United States |
Plot
Willa and Bill are ex-lovers that will see each other for the first time in years when they both find themselves snowed in, in-transit, at an airport overnight.
Don’t miss your favorite movie moments because you have to pee or need a snack. Use the RunPee app (Androidor iPhone) when you go to the movies. We have Peetimes for all wide release films every week, including Napoleon, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, The Marvels, and coming soon Godzilla: Minus One and many others. We have literally thousands of Peetimes—from classic movies through today's blockbusters. You can also keep up with movie news and reviews on our blog, or by following us on Twitter @RunPee. If there's a new film out there, we've got your bladder covered.
Creator and developer of the RunPee app. When something doesn’t work right in the app it’s pretty much his fault. 🙂
Aspiring author. Would like to finish his “Zombie Revelations” trilogy if he could break away for working on RunPee and the cottage he’s building for RunPee Mom.
Susanne
I knew it would eventually happen. I am usually on the same page as you on reviews. I was super excited to see the movie — watching grass grow is more exciting than this movie. (And I love Meg Ryan movies.) Gotta disagree with your review. It was painful to sit through. Maybe I saw a different movie with the same actors and name. Lol.
Dan Gardner Administrator
I really enjoyed it and was surprised when I saw how low the RottenTomotoes score was. When we’re doing Peetimes for a movie we have a mantra that we keep in mind: no matter how bad a movie might be, it will be someone’s favorite–do the Peetimes accordingly. This is far from a favorite movie, but a good example of how wildly different people can rate a movie.
Then there’s the opposite. I remember watching the last Planet of the Apes movie back it 2018 or so. It was soooo bad that I apologized to my wife for bringing her to the movie. When I got home and started writing my review I looked up the RT scores and it was in the 90s for critics and audience. I thought, “This can’t be right. I’m looking at the wrong movie.” I double checked, and then double checked again. How in the world can this movie have a good RT score. It was garbage. 🙂
Susanne
So true. I always tell myself, life would be boring if we all agreed or liked the same things. I just thought it interesting that i agree 99 percent of the time with your reviews. I’ll still take that into consideration when i watch others :). We’ll be back on track eventually.
Dan Gardner Administrator
Well then bad news, you better not like “The Marvels”. 🙂