Taglines: All he needs is a second chance to be her first choice.
When We First Met movie storyline. Noah Ashby is in love with beautiful Avery Martin after meeting her at a 2014 Halloween party, but she regards him as a friend. Avery meets her fiancé, Ethan, the day after she and Noah met. Three years later, Noah remains distraught at not having been able to win her over.
When he becomes intoxicated at Ethan and Avery’s engagement party, Noah winds up in the photo booth he used with her on their first meeting and drunkenly operates it before falling asleep. Awakening in bed, Noah discovers the photo booth brought him back to the day they met and he resolves to change the events of the day to ensure he and Avery end up together.
Noah uses his pre-existing knowledge of Avery to his advantage in his first attempt to win her over, but Avery and her roommate Carrie Grey suspect him of being a stalker, and he returns to a new version of 2017 where he and Avery do not know each other. For his second attempt traveling back to 2014, Noah follows his friend Max’s advice of being a rude alpha male and successfully beds Avery, but he develops a self-absorbed personality and when he returns to the present, his relationship with Avery is purely sexual.
When We First Met is a 2018 American romantic comedy film directed by Ari Sandel, written by John Whittington, and starring Adam Devine, Alexandra Daddario, Shelley Hennig, Andrew Bachelor, Robbie Amell, Dean J. West, Tony Cavalero, Tenea Intriago, Chris Wylde, Noureen DeWulf and Chelsea Bruland. It was released worldwide on Netflix on February 9, 2018.
Film Review for When We First Met
The concept of “When We First Met” sounds like it could be offensively atrocious if it leaned too far into the possessiveness of its premise. And it’s probable that some people will be offended at the very idea of a man-child who gets to relive the same day over and over again just to get out of the friend zone with a girl he’s been infatuated with for the last three years. It’s hard to imagine a concept further removed from today’s cultural moment of empowerment than that of a spoiled dude-bro being given multiple chances to bed his object of desire.
The truth is that “When We First Met” is too benign to be offensive. It’s a surprisingly dull affair, enlivened occasionally by star Adam Devine’s willingness to do anything to get a laugh and a charming supporting turn from Shelley Hennig, but one of those movies that feels shockingly long for its actually short running time. Ultimately, no one could save the script by John Whittington, who relied so completely on his concept that he failed to write jokes or characters.
The star of “Workaholics” and “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” leads the film as Noah Ashby, a jazz pianist (yes, seriously) who can’t get over the most memorable meet-cute of his life. Three years ago, Noah went to a Halloween party (dressed as Garth from “Wayne’s World”) and literally ran into a beautiful young lady named Avery (Alexandra Daddario of “San Andreas”) dressed as Geena Davis’ character from “A League of Their Own.”
They chatted the night away, went to his piano bar, took some photos in a booth, and even went back to her place. In a possibly romantic moment, Noah leaned in for a kiss … and got a hug. He fell deep into the friend zone. Three years later, he’s attending Avery’s engagement party to Ethan (Robbie Amell) and getting drunk to hide his misery. Fate will intervene in the form of a magic photo booth that sends Noah back to that fateful evening and gives him a chance to rewrite his life with Avery over and over again.
It’s hard to believe no one tried the “Rom-Com Meets Groundhog Day” thing before but perhaps it’s because the concept runs out of steam before the movie is even half over. Surprisingly, “When We First Met” doesn’t even engage that much with its premise, showing us only a few run-throughs of alternate timelines for Noah and Avery, with asides from best friends played by Hennig and Andrew Bachelor. In one, he pulls out all of the stops to prove how much he knows about her. In another, he plays the asshole card, being the cool guy who barely cares—but that changes him in ways nobody likes.
In yet another, he moves from piano to a white-collar life, but even that doesn’t lead to domestic bliss. The problem is that none of these timelines are interesting. “When We First Met” simply isn’t funny. And the romantic trajectory of the film is obvious from scene one—hint: this is the kind of movie that only has two female characters if the other one is going to eventually be someone’s romantic interest too.
Netflix has been accused lately of delivering films and TV shows that are easily used as background material, and “When We First Met,” with its repetitive nature and lack of characters, certainly qualifies as something to watch while you play games on your smartphone. There are beats and scenes that save “When We First Met” from complete disaster, whether it’s Devine singing “Back in Time” or the genuinely winning performance from Hennig.
And yet those are offset by scenes in which it feels like someone wrote on a whiteboard, “the phrase ‘doggy style’ is funny.” Most of all, “When We First Met” just falls into a style gap. It’s not broad enough to be offensive or silly. It’s not realistic enough to be emotional or moving. It’s just … there. It’s like being at a crowded restaurant and eavesdropping on the same bad first date over and over and over again. You’d probably want to move tables.
When We First Met (2018)
Directed by: Ari Sandel
Starring: Adam Devine, Alexandra Daddario, Shelley Hennig, Andrew Bachelor, Robbie Amell, Dean J. West, Tony Cavalero, Tenea Intriago, Chris Wylde, Noureen DeWulf, Chelsea Bruland
Screenplay by: John Whittington
Production Design by: Gae S. Buckley
Cinematography by: David Hennings
Film Editing by: Jeffrey Wolf
Costume Design by: Meagan McLaughlin
Set Decoration by: Gretchen Gattuso
Art Direction by: Michelle C. Harmon
Music by: Eric V. Hachikian
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Netflix
Release Date: September 1, 2017 (limited)
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