plainerenglish
I live in Philly, so the lovely shots of Rittenhouse Square and the skyline were fun to see in a film. Unfortunately, they were among the few things really worthwhile in "What Happens Next." The plot and dialog are creaky, implausible, formulaic and -- as gay issues in a progressive urban setting go -- out-of-date by about 30 years.The cast is relatively game, considering the clunky lines and unlikely relationships, though most of them get only about one emotional note to play. Wendie Malick does her usual job of providing over-the-top antagonism in an otherwise low-key film. Production values are decent enough, though the cinematographer's choice of filters sometimes make characters look jaundiced. I wanted to like this more; but the screenplay needed some heavy revision before filming.
jk-692-236394
The actor playing the gay guy must of been the author of this movie because he sure as heck is not an actor. I looked him up on IMDb and this is his only credit. No surprise there. This is like a commercial for being gay, and so cliché. The gay guys are so gay. The main one, Andy wears baseball caps that say San Francisco, and PFLAG, ( families for gay and lesbians, who must of helped pay the film, since he wears this cap most of the film). One word for this movie, clunky and awkward. It feels like a student video for school. The idea was to show a middle age man discovering he is gay. Labored bad sitcom writing, making points with baseball hats. Groan. Yes that bad.
Rich Stein
I enjoyed this lighthearted and honest romantic comedy. This film has a lot of heart and soul. I found it refreshing that it was filmed in Philadelphia rather than the usual NYC or LA locations. The Rittenhouse square outdoor park scenes took advantage of the peaceful beauty and natural light of nature. It was wonderful to watch the romantic relationship develop between Andy and Paul in the beautiful setting of the park over a period of time in such a normal and natural way. I found the characters of Andy and Paul to be believable and lovable. They have an honest,real and sincere chemistry. This is a story about finding love, happiness and about discovering who you really are and what you really want. This is a gentle film with a gentle message about being true to yourself and how that allows everything else to fall into place perfectly.
cloverleaf_bella
The idea of the film is very good, the story is very good. Those are the only good things about it. Bad photography, poor actor direction (you can see the actors are good but aren't being led in the right way), the story is full of gaps - situations and characters that lack development -, the dialogs are sometimes artificial, the soundtrack is badly used - you barely notice it, in a bad way -, errors in continuity (you see the characters eating but the plate stays full throughout the scene), reflections of studio light on the walls, misfit colors (filtering?). It could have been and should have been so much better. What a waste of wonderful plot...
AD
