When We First Met (2018)
Directed by Ari Sandel
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.
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5 films that influenced When We First Met
What critics say influenced When We First Met
The premise seems ripped from Richard Curtis' "About Time" — it's a millennial "Groundhog Day" meets "The Butterfly Effect."
Though it borrows heavily from Groundhog’s Day, Back to the Future, Just Friends, and even About Time, this time travel war on the friend zone has a handful of good ideas of its own.
The trailer and premise of this movie made me wary, as they’re reminiscent of About Time’s “time travel is a good way to get laid and fall in love” ethos.
Directed by Ari Sandel and written by John Whittington, this rom-com has comparable elements to About Time (yes, Hollywood is still doing time-travel), but lacks in its sincerity.
Netflix’s latest, When We First Met, takes all the ick we ignored in About Time and Groundhog Day and distills it into a potent combination of the worst parts of Groundhog Day crossed with Insert Friend Zone Movie Here.
Speaking of nostalgia, that initial meeting takes place at a Halloween party where Avery’s dressed as Dottie from “A League of Their Own” and Noah is Garth from a movie I shouldn’t have to name so I won’t.
She was Geena Davis in “A League of Their Own.”
Instead of drawing inspiration from such romantic comedies as "Sleepless in Seattle" or "You've Got Mail," it recycles the major plot catalyst of "Big."
Instead of drawing inspiration from such romantic comedies as "Sleepless in Seattle" or "You've Got Mail," it recycles the major plot catalyst of "Big."
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They had a magical evening that ended with a hug and friendship, which Noah believes was cemented by Avery meeting her now-fiancée Ethan (Robbie Amell, reuniting with Sandal after The DUFF) the next day.
Unlike director Ari Sandel’s previous films, “The DUFF” and Oscar-winning short “West Bank Story,” “When We First Met” offers no charm amidst its corniness.
Movies take a while to make, so it’s hard to blame director Ari Sandel (“The Duff”) for not reading the room, but Netflix has already proven that it’s never too late to just throw in a Cloverfield monster whenever things aren’t working.
“I can still remember the exact pitch of her laugh,” Noah says as he recalls that first meeting, and director Ari Sandel (“The Duff”) and writer John Whittington (“The Lego Batman Movie”) offer an aural joke combining a high squeal and deep groan.
Robbie Amell also stars as a man so perfect it would be annoying if he wasn’t so pleasant to look at, and the film reunites him with his The Duff director, Ari Sandel who helmed this as well.
This Netflix original indie from director Ari Sandel (“The Duff”) puts “Big” and “Groundhog Day” in a blender with a foolproof recipe of lighthearted humor, tender romance, and feel good happiness.