What If
CBS Films | Release Date: August 8, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 36 Critics
Positive:
23
Mixed:
10
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekAug 8, 2014
In the highly imperfect world of contemporary romantic comedies, What If is as close to perfect as anything we've got, not least for the way it captures the abject hopefulness of young people who'd like to be in love but don't know how to go about it. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter TraversAug 7, 2014
What If doesn't break new ground. But it has charm to spare, and Radcliffe and Kazan are irresistible. No ifs about it. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriAug 8, 2014
In the end, What If belongs to Zoe Kazan. And both she and it are wonderful. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'HehirAug 7, 2014
What If could be the breakthrough film that underappreciated Canadian director Michael Dowse (“Goon” and “It’s All Gone Pete Tong”) has been waiting for, and at any rate it’s a sparkling screwball highball, perfect for a late-summer weekend. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicRandy CordovaAug 7, 2014
Director Michael Dowse (from the underrated Topher Grace comedy "Take Me Home Tonight") fuels the story with atmosphere, with lots of nighttime activity and bustle. He keeps things grounded in reality, though little touches (Chantry imagines her drawings coming to life) add an extra — and, perhaps, excessive — sweetness. Read full review
80
TheWrapJames RocchiAug 6, 2014
Perhaps the best thing about What If, the new romantic comedy from director Michael Dowse (“Goon”), is that for all of its banter and batted eyes, from its awkward introductions to its inevitable climactic declarations of love, everyone in it feels like a real human being. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaAug 8, 2014
What If boasts a couple of near-classic comic moments, one involving jalapeno peppers and a precipitous fall. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesBill ZweckerAug 8, 2014
While the outcome is pretty predictable and borderline formulaic, this is a well-paced romantic comedy that works due to its engaging cast — with special kudos going out to Radcliffe and Kazan, but also Driver, who delivers perfectly as the fast-talking, libido-driven hunkster. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleAug 7, 2014
Fortunately, What If rights itself well before the finish and finds its way back to the truth and the light. Read full review
75
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreAug 6, 2014
Kazan, as she proved in “Ruby Sparks,” has a whimsical, quirky girl-next-door appeal. Radcliffe, wearing post-Harry Potter stubble and delivering toothy, jaw-jutting grins, makes it easy for us to believe he cannot get her out of his head. Read full review
72
Film.comDavid EhrlichSep 15, 2013
The F Word would be commendable on the strength of its unusual wit and warmth alone, but it becomes a far more satisfying (even somewhat illuminating) experience because it doesn’t shy away from the often ugly psychology engendered by cross-gendered friendships. Read full review
70
The DissolveScott TobiasAug 6, 2014
At a time when the once-dominant romantic comedy is an endangered species, What If proves the formulas can still work, under the right circumstances, and without really needing to tweak the recipe much. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeSep 15, 2013
Hitting all the rom-com notes with wit and some charm, it'll be a crowd-pleaser. Read full review
70
VarietyJustin ChangSep 15, 2013
Roughly three parts charming to one part cloying, The F Word attempts and largely succeeds at pulling off a smart, self-aware riff on romantic-comedy conventions while maintaining a core of earnest feeling. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianMarc MohanAug 14, 2014
Tries to pretend that its premise isn't timeworn, and thanks to charming lead performances, it almost succeeds. But not quite. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerAug 8, 2014
Radcliffe and Kazan have a nice nerds-in-clover rapport. If only the movie wasn’t so satisfied with how cute it is. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyAug 6, 2014
There’s the requisite cutesiness: magnetic poetry, unnecessary animated sequences, multiple discussions of Elvis’ eating habits, a screening of The Princess Bride. (Perhaps "When Harry Met Sally" would have been too obvious.) Read full review
67
The PlaylistKevin JagernauthAug 6, 2014
Always thoroughly pleasant, and that's entirely due to the cast, who all turn in breezy performances. Read full review
67
IndieWireEric KohnSep 15, 2013
It tries to have some bite to its will-they-or-won't-they scenario but ultimately winds up toothless. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliAug 11, 2014
The result, while capable of painlessly occupying 90 minutes, isn't remarkable enough to recommend as more than a home video rental. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comSusan WloszczynaAug 8, 2014
Everything about the romantic comedy What If is cute. Utterly cute. Undeniably cute. Uber–duber cute. Read full review
63
ObserverRex ReedAug 7, 2014
Nothing to line up for or write home about, but it’s a pleasant time-passer, not a regrettable time-waster. Read full review
63
Washington PostStephanie MerryAug 7, 2014
If you can suspend your incredulity for a moment, What If has its bright moments. And that’s thanks in large part to its leads, who manage to do what Radcliffe has always done well: conjure up a little magic. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesAug 20, 2014
Occasional animated inserts inspired by Chantry’s work as an illustrator, while accomplished, inject an off-note of whimsy that doesn’t quite square with the script’s stabs at edgier humor. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldConnie OgleAug 14, 2014
There was, however, another question the screenwriter should have asked: Why does the script focus on the wrong couple? Read full review
50
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallAug 13, 2014
Ultimately, the movie's energy rises and falls on the presence of Adam Driver as Wallace's libido-on-legs friend, who can make you believe sex can solve anything. Except this movie. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinAug 7, 2014
Although What If nobly attempts to honor and embellish the tropes of the genre rather than reinvent them, the filmmakers get tripped up on their own good intentions and uncertain comedic instincts. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrAug 7, 2014
The movie has a problem, too: Spall is likable, Kazan is adorable, Driver is amusing enough as the blowhard best friend, and Radcliffe as Wallace is . . . a passive-aggressive lump. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsAug 7, 2014
What If brings up the distinctions among wit, jokes and robotic banter, and this new romantic comedy has a bit of the first and a few of the second, but it's largely a case of the third. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternAug 7, 2014
No one ever stops talking. Twenty-somethings talk incessant small talk, or cute talk, or fatuous talk that's supposed to be clever. Read full review
40
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisAug 7, 2014
A balloon of cuteness that makes you yearn for a pin, What If is Saturday night comfort food for those who need to believe that even the most curdled among us can find a mate. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanAug 7, 2014
Anyone looking for a date-night flick will be inclined to fall for Michael Dowse’s aggressively adorable What If. Just be warned: The single-minded determination to win you over may wind up pushing you away. Read full review
40
The GuardianHenry BarnesSep 15, 2013
It's pulled this way and that by a hiddly-fiddly soundtrack, spun senseless by scene after scene of Radcliffe and Kazan trading flirtatious banter. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineNick McCarthyAug 3, 2014
Right up to its simplistic ending, the film is pleased to regurgitate the contrived tropes of the genre without ever honestly addressing the ethics of romantic boundaries. Read full review
33
Entertainment WeeklyJoe McGovernAug 7, 2014
An unctuous rom-com that runs its characters through every plastic cliché of a pre-Oscar McConaughey vehicle, ultimately causing us to root against the vacuous couple and their predetermined happy ending. Read full review
25
New York PostKyle SmithAug 6, 2014
What If is a case of the cutes the way the Black Death was a case of infectious disease. The movie is saturated with cute, teeming with cute, rancid with cute. I’d endured all a man could fairly be expected to take when I glanced at my watch and realized there were still 95 minutes to go. Read full review
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