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Parents' Guide to

What If

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Sweet but mature romcom about friends in love.

Movie PG-13 2014 102 minutes
What If Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 15+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Mufeed P.
Mufeed P. Adult
May 26, 2017
age 13+

Remarkable Actors especially Zoe Kazan and Daniel Radcliffe ...Nicely done with a very nice story..Love the way you people acted.... AWESOME FILM

The best movie I have ever seen in my life.. Storyline is wonderful . Moreover every love stories coming out all are so worse, that they think love is a joke and its too easy for them to get the things done .In my opinion this is the exact situation in our real life ...Its too hard to find a true love like they have well described in this film..Everyone must watch this film its my humble request...I liked it so much that i watched it more than 100 times.The song the cameras all are well set ...Both actors looks charming and they have really gave their 101% efforts in making such a good film....Come up with new films like this in future.. There are people to watch them...

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
johnswanson
johnswanson Adult
November 25, 2014
age 16+

Cute romantic comedy with some frank talk about sex.

This movie is very cute and very well-written. Kids will want to see it because of the presence of Daniel Radcliffe. Don't be fooled. In spite of the PG-13 rating, this is not a movie for young teens. There is a lot of talk about sex, some nudity, and plenty of inappropriate dialogue and situations. There is a little bit of profanity, but I think younger kids could handle that. It's the sex content that should steer you away from letting younger teens watch this film.

This title has:

Too much sex
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In WHAT IF, Wallace (Daniel Radcliffe) is a recent Toronto med school dropout getting over a cheating ex. He shows up at his college roommate Allan's (Adam Driver) house party, where he meets a beautiful and funny woman who turns out to be Allan's cousin Chantry (Zoe Kazan). Just when Wallace thinks they have a spark, she casually mentions that she has a live-in boyfriend. After bumping into each other again, Chantry convinces Wallace to have a platonic friendship, since they have so much in common. Dozens of conversations, emails, and outings later, Wallace meets the boyfriend, Ben (Rafe Spall), who secretly threatens him if it turns out that Wallace wants more than friendship. As their relationship continues to grow, Wallace must deal with his increasingly romantic feelings toward Chantry, who seems to think she can manage being "just friends" without wanting more.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (14 ):

This hopeful love story about friendship being an ideal cornerstone for any epic romance makes for an enchanting indie romcom. A direct cinematic descendant of When Harry Met Sally, What If (or The F Word, as it's titled in Canada) explores the age-old question of whether men and women can be close, even best, friends without sexual tension getting in the way. Of course, the answer is usually no, but that doesn't mean Canadian director Michael Dowse doesn't make this a charming and occasionally unpredictable little love story about friends who really, really try to keep things in the "friends zone" but ultimately can't deny that their connection is more than they can bear.

Driver (who's playing a more commitment-ready variation of his Girls character) and his PDA-happy girlfriend-turned-wife Nicole (stunner Mackenzie Davis) are perfectly cast as a passionate new couple who do their best to force Wallace to admit his feelings to Chantry, but Wallace would rather suffer in silence than ruin his genuinely deep friendship. Radcliffe and Kazan are almost too adorable and charming and share a palpable chemistry that makes their connection easy to believe. The beautiful indie soundtrack (lots of Patrick Watson and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros) provides a lovely accompaniment to the story, which takes melancholy turns. The script, based on a play, doesn't let Chantry or Wallace off the hook for thinking they could be fair to her boyfriend if they kept their own attachment going.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the popularity of the friends-to-more storyline. Why is that such a beloved plot in love stories? Do you agree that it's hard for men and women to be "just" friends?

  • How does What If depict sexual relationships? What about drinking? How are sex and drinking portrayed differently when the characters are in their 20s than when they're underage?

  • Do you agree with Wallace's idea that a relationship that starts "dirty" -- with someone cheating -- is likely to end that way as well?

Movie Details

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