With a fantastic lead couple and an interesting premise, Which Brings Me to You is a sweet rom-com, if not a very memorable one.
Directed by Peter Hutchings, Which Brings Me to You is the newest addition to the roaster of recent romantic comedies. Lately, it very much feels like rom-coms are back for good, with some great examples both in the last year and at the beginning of 2024: Anyone But You is just the latest sensation that comes to mind. Which Brings Me to You features a very convincing leading couple in a somewhat unremarkable but very much character-driven film.
Like many great romantic comedies, Which Brings Me to You starts at a wedding, where Jane (Lucy Hale, of Running on Empty) and Will (Nate Wolfe) first meet. The two are immediately drawn to each other and end up spending the next day hours together, after a catastrophic attempt at hooking up in the coatroom. In the next 24 hours, Jane and Will open up to each other, reliving past memories together and sharing confessions about their love lives and heartbreaks. But will these two romantic burnouts eventually find love after everything they have been through?
Lucy Hale and Natt Wolfe are the very reason why Which Brings Me to You is an enjoyable film. Not only does their chemistry translate well on screen, making it truly believable that they could have fallen in love in just 24 hours, but they also both excel at balancing the comedy aspect with the more dramatic parts of the film. It is truly a joy to see a couple on screen that is so well-balanced in terms of their acting: Hale and Wolfe bounce off each other in the comedic parts with well-timed jokes but they also match each other when it comes to dealing with more emotional topics.
The comedy is particularly successful. Despite a slow beginning sequence, which is way too long for a scene that only introduces us to the two main characters, Which Brings Me to You starts on the right foot by immediately setting its comedic tone. The jokes may not be particularly memorable, but the delivery is successful thanks to Wolfe’s excellent comedic timing. In terms of writing, the last act of the film is undoubtedly the strongest one as we have a better idea of who these characters are. It also feels like the film eventually comes full circle as various scenes foreshadow one of the key plot points.
With its simple and predictable premise, Which Brings Me to You eventually works because the audience goes on an emotional journey with the character that mirrors the car journey they are taking to move from one location to another. As they dig deeper into their past, we discover something new about them. Most importantly, both Jane and Will are in charge of their story and how it is told: as they open themselves up, they choose which stories to share with each other. For example, the audience won’t necessarily learn about their past loves chronologically but, instead, in the order they are most comfortable with at that point in the movie, which feels very authentic and real to how we connect in real life too.
The structure of Which Brings Me to You is interesting, as it allows the audience to witness their memories as the main characters relieve them as they narrate them. Each flashback sequence is also very specific and detailed as the characters’ outfits, locations, and attitudes visibly change in each stage of their life. However, it is too simple and fairly repetitive by the end of it, as Jane and Will keep alternating in their retelling of the past through flashbacks. Because we know how each of these stories is inevitably going to end, there is no time in the film for the audience to get attached to the various love interests that make up the main characters’ stories and, therefore, truly connect with the past failed romances they are sharing.
Which Brings Me to You is a sweet addition to the genre, reminding its audiences that you don’t need to be perfect to be loved, and that a failed romance – or multiple in the case of our protagonists – does not mean someone will never find love. It is a film that rom-coms fans will like as it follows some beloved tropes of the genre, but regrettably not a very memorable one in the end.
Which Brings Me to You will be released in US theaters on January 19, 2024.
