Meg Ryan and David Duchovny star in a defeatist romantic comedy that sucks all the life out of the genre.It’s bewildering to think about “What Happens Later,” because it has all the ingredients that make a worthy romantic comedy.
“I’m officially a woman with no power,” she says as she plops on a chair. It’s a cheeky line that somehow manages to land like a slippery pot of spaghetti sauce — right on the floor. But it’s not enough. A rare redeeming factor in “What Happens Later” is Ryan and Duchovny’s chemistry. Theoretically, their humor bounces off each other. Ryan’s eyes roll whenever Bill does the thing — you know, the thing your ex did that annoyed you when you were together. Duchovny shakes his head with satisfaction whenever Willa does something equally predictable.work.
. Those are real traits that can be used well in a good film. But this movie imbues no life into its characters with any of those things.There’s not a single thoughtful, adult conversation that happens throughout this film. A lot of words are said — dialogue is continuous in this two-hander — but no ideas are shared, and neither Willa nor Bill seems curious about why the other is the way they are like in, say, Richard Linklater’s “Before” trilogy. There’s just an annoyed acceptance.