What Happens Later

A romcom for those nostalgic for 90s and 2000s cinema

Among the films I saw at the cinema in 2024 there is “What Happens Later”, directed by Meg Ryan and starring herself together with David Duchovny.

This is a romantic comedy in which the two protagonists, 25 years after the end of their relationship, meet in a remote airport, where, waiting for their respective connections, they remain stranded for many hours due to a snowstorm.
Initially reluctant, they find themselves spending time together and end up discussing their past and what happened in their lives after they broke up.

I went to see this film to enjoy Ryan again on the big screen. I missed her so much and I’m sorry that so much time had to pass before I could see her in a new film.
I feel nostalgic for that cinema of the 90s and early 2000s, and I admit that I feared being disappointed by this vision, especially when I realised that obviously time has passed and she, at 62, is no longer the queen of romantic comedies of the past.
And yet it’s always her.
Her movements, her looks, her expressions are always the same, and for 105 minutes I let myself be carried away by the chatter of Willa, her character, and Bill, Duchovny’s.
Lots and lots of chatter.

The screenplay, co-written by Ryan herself, is based on a play by Steven Dietz. This is immediately evident from the fact that the story takes place entirely in a single location, in which in fact only two characters move:  Willa and Bill. The extras seen at the beginning tend to thin out until they disappear, and the scene is occupied by the main characters’ conversations, which spans between jokes, melancholy, and a pinch of drama.
But they are not totally alone. The third character in this story is the voice that is broadcast from the loudspeakers of the small airport and transmits announcements to the passengers. This voice occasionally intervenes in the conversations of the protagonists, creating only momentary perplexity in them.
Did it really answer, or did they just imagine it?

The title of the film refers to what happens to two people after the end of their relationship, what life they end up having without knowing about the other’s. Willa and Bill have the opportunity to tell each other about it and explain themselves after a long time, and to forgive each other.

If you too feel orphaned by that cinema, if you want to spend an hour and 45 minutes smiling, laughing, and sharing with the protagonists the difficulties they had to face in a life they didn’t spend together, I recommend you watch this film.