Movie Name/Year: When We First Met (2018)
Tagline: All he needs is a second chance to be her first choice.
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Length: 97 minutes
Rating: TV-14
Production Companies: Netflix, Wonderland Sound and Vision, Footprint Features, MXN Entertainment
Producers: Steven Bello, Adam Devine, Steven Eddy, Bingo Gubelmann, Daniella Kahane, Michelle Knudsen, Benji Kohn, McG, James McGough, Mason Novick, Peter Pastorelli, Eddie Rubin, Adam Saunders, Mary Viola, Jeremy Kipp Walker, Danny Zamost
Director: Ari Sandel
Writer: John Whittington
Actors: Adam DeVine, Alexandra Daddario, Shelley Hennig, Andrew Bachelor, Robbie Amell, Noureen DeWulf, Dean West, Chris Wylde
Blurb from Netflix: Using a magical photo booth that sends him back in time, Noah relives the night he met Avery over and over, trying to persuade her to fall for him.
I have to say, I was a little hesitant about this movie when it came up for review.
I absolutely adore Robbie Amell (The Flash, ARQ, The X-Files) and Alexandria Daddario (San Andreas, The Choice, The Layover), but I’m generally not as big a fan of Adam Devine’s (The Final Girls, Why Him?, Modern Family) trademark flavor of humor.
Never let it be said that I didn’t give it the good old ‘college try’ …or is that ‘girl scout try’… regardless of what sort of effort you want to label it as; I tried to keep an open mind.
I’m glad I did. I ended up thoroughly enjoying When We First Met.
You’ll probably hear this a lot, because it’s just one of the most logical comparisons out there – it’s a new twist on a Groundhog Day (1993) type story. I am very appreciative, however, that they didn’t go straight for a day-loop scenario in the same manner. It’s more like they took elements from that concept and then put it in a blender with the flash-forward consequences from Click (2006) and maybe a hint of Big (1988).
What can I say? Even Devine won me over with this one. I found myself really getting hooked – wondering what would happen on the next rinse and repeat cycle. I won’t lie. The brand of humor he’s most well-known for with that awkward cringe-factor to it, was definitely present here. The upside was that I was entertained enough by everything else that I didn’t mind it as much sprinkled in with everything else. It was well-woven into the story so that the entire thing didn’t trigger one giant eye-roll.
I find that I actually wouldn’t mind giving this Netflix Original a thumbs up – even if I might not go out of my way to volunteer the movie as a recommendation.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 41%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 57%
Metascore - 36/100
Metacritic User Score – 5.8/10
IMDB Score – 6.4/10
Trust the Dice: Cat's Rating – 3.5/5
Movie Trailer:
