Directed by Peter Hutchings, Which Brings Me to You is a comical coat closet encounter gone delightfully array. The film stars the undog chemistry pairing of Lucy Hale and Nat Wolff as two struggling wedding guests thrown together in desperation.
This self-proclaimed rom-com is heavy on romance as our down-on-their-luck wedding guests find themselves confessing their ugliest breakup stories to each other over the course of one day. These ugly truths fester an angsty catharsis for this film to flourish within.
However, the stream of heartwrenching confessions does little to foster much comedy.
In the unappealing earnestness of this romantic indie, the unlikely romance between Jane and Will does its best work.
Their wiley banter and inability to trust another human being long enough to form a connection give this romantic outing an element of unpredictable charm. It allows the two leads to breeze past the get-to-know-you period and any awkward setup that comes with trying to develop organic chemistry. Instead, the film unprecedently lobs truth bomb after truth bomb at the pair until any unease surrounding their romantic tension is overwhelmed by external heartbreak. Jane and Will could do the bare minimum to be cute and feel like a reprieve.
Really, it’s a brilliant plan of attack: overstimulate the audience with examples of love gone wrong until the two scrappy, unloveable bachelors in front of us seem like the only plausible, healthy option for happiness. Even so, Which Brings Me to You doesn’t fear giving screen time to Hale and Wolff. It finds a healthy balance between past lover flashbacks and our present-day pairing that doesn’t feel counterproductive.
Surprisingly, the constant jumping from the past to the present day isn’t too irksome, with the film settling into a storytelling method that cleverly suspends our leads somewhere in between timelines.
For a few blissful moments throughout the film, it feels like this indie underdog can capture authenticity and romance oddities that Hollywood blockbusters like Anyone but You can never quite grasp in their manufactured state. It is not polished to perfection; it allows these two to be messy and funny in their humility.
That said, if something is going to be labeled a rom-com, the audience comes to expect a healthy amount of comedy. Which Brings Me to You is emotionally devastating and rich with relationship drama, but its dense, depressing nature is void of anything beyond a few contemporary giggles.
It could benefit from more scenes like the abandoned theme-park break-in or restaurant pie banter that is still comical but doesn’t break the drama bubble this story so clearly exists in. As the film enters its final act, the comedy dissipates almost altogether, which is a disappointment because it comes at a time when these two need to be humbled more than ever by their insufferableness.
Ultimately, Which Brings Me to You is okay. Maybe even great at times.
It holds its own even when the stench of heartbreak makes this romantic tale a little too dense to enjoy. It could be something exceptional with a little more shenanigans and chaos. That said, mediocrity at a time when rom-coms struggle to exist is not a bad thing. This film is unique and boasts a great twist in its final act. It tries to be authentic, and that’s what matters.
Sometimes, the most enticing hidden gems in this genre are the understated underdogs — and Hale and Wolff are all those wonderful things.
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Which Brings Me to You is now in theatres.
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