When We First Met (2018)

When I first saw When We First Met on Netflix I was like, nah, I'm not going to watch this. It's going to be just another of those terrible Netflix movies and I don't want to waste my time with it. Then something got into me and I watched it.

During Avery's (Alexandra Daddario) engagement party, Noah (Adam DeVine) recalls when they first met on a Halloween party three years earlier and he is depressed because, well, he is in love with her. He gets drunk and ends up at the piano bar where he works. He uses the photo booth he and Avery used on their first day and he falls asleep. Turns out the photo booth is a time machine, Noah wakes up on October 31, 2014, the day he met Avery, and has the chance to "fix" things. Over and over again. 

The plot is simple and quite predictable, but, to be honest, I enjoyed it. It was fun and engaging from start to finish. I also really liked the idea, even though it feels like something in between Groundhog Day and (500) Days of Summer. It doesn't always make a lot of sense  --I'm not sure a movie involving time travel is supposed to make any though-- and there are many plot holes, especially when it comes to the time travel rules --which are not clear at all-- but it's a lot better than I expected and a little better than your average romantic comedy. 

However, what truly made When We First Met interesting for me was the main character, Noah. He is a friendly and kinda awkward guy, he is likeable and lovable, and the situations he gets himself into are quite interesting. This was the first time I saw Adam DeVine and I was impressed by him. He's got a unique humour and style of delivery which suits very well to the role --I actually read that the producers had him rewrite the script to suit his comedy style. I guess that's the reason the comedy here works so well. Also, DeVine's Noah is such a sweet and nice guy you can't help but wish him all the happiness in the world --so, yeah, he is not like that douche Bill Murray plays in Groundhog Day.

Netflix

As for the supporting characters, they are nothing but clichés with nothing resembling character development, Alessandra Daddario's Avery is actually pretty annoying and unlikable. Maybe we were supposed to feel like that about her because of the "twist" coming later in the movie. Or maybe the role needed a better actress. On the other hand, Shelley Hennig's Carrie, Avery's best friend, surprisingly turns out to be a likeable character. Same goes for King Bach's Max, Noah's best friend. I wish there was more of him in this as Bach is really charming.

Ultimately, When We First Met isn't the kind of movie that wins awards. The direction is flawed, to say the least, and the jokes fall flat sometimes and distract from the plot, but overall it's a fun and entertaining flick.