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Meg Ryan returns to rom-coms in What Happens Later first look, talks Nora Ephron inspiration
https://ew.com ^ | August 29, 2023 | Maureen Lee Lenker

Posted on 08/29/2023 3:51:24 PM PDT by Beowulf9

It may not be fall yet, but we're ready to send Meg Ryan a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils.

Ryan, beloved in rom-com classics such as When Harry Met Sally and You've Got Mail, is returning to the genre that made her a star. In What Happens Later, which Ryan also co-wrote and directed, she stars as Willa, who ends up snowed in at a regional airport with ex-lover Bill (David Duchovny), whom she has not seen in years.

(Excerpt) Read more at ew.com ...


TOPICS: TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: duchovny; megryan
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EW has an exclusive first look at Ryan's rom-com redux, which borrows from both classic screwball comedies and late, great writer-director Nora Ephron in its tale of lost love, second chances, and buoyant goodwill. "Sometimes there's a question of: Will they be together? Will they not be together?" Ryan says, in quotes provided to EW from an interview conducted prior to the start of the SAG-AFTRA strike. "For that reason, [What Happens Later] sort of evolves the rom-com genre just a little bit. It's also about old people, and it's still romantic and sexy."

When Willa and Bill are indefinitely delayed at an airport overnight, they find themselves drawn to each other and irked by one another much as they did decades prior. But as they try to unravel their mutual past and compare the trajectory of their lives to the dreams they once shared, they begin to question if their reunion is coincidental or guided by a greater force in the universe. Based on the play Shooting Star by Steven Dietz, the Bleecker Street film boasts a script by Dietz, Ryan, and Kirk Lynn. What Happens Later is Ryan's second feature film behind the camera and her first romantic comedy. She previously directed 2015's Ithaca.

"It has a relationship to movies from the '40s, like Bringing Up Baby, in terms of the banter and the rhythm of things and a lot of that era of filmmaking," Ryan adds. "Nora Ephron used to say about rom-coms that they were really a secretly incredible delivery system to comment on the times, and we do that in this movie."

Ryan first met Duchovny via Zoom in preparation for the film but quickly warmed to him as an onscreen partner. "My character, Willa, is a magical thinker and David's character, Bill, is a catastrophic thinker," Ryan explains of the film. "These rom-coms really work when the two characters are somehow opposites and yet have a rhythm of intellect and humor and dialogue and banter that sort of indicates their compatibility. So, it's just been really fun to see David embrace this guy who I don't think is anything really like David. Whereas the Willa thing I can really relate to. To see him dive into every single scene in the fullest way, he's funny, and he's smart, and he's dear, and irresistible."

What Happens Later hits theaters on Oct. 13. Check out more first-look photos below.

1 posted on 08/29/2023 3:51:24 PM PDT by Beowulf9
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To: Beowulf9

I still think that Joe Vs The Volcano was the zenith of her career.


2 posted on 08/29/2023 3:53:31 PM PDT by Seruzawa ("The Political left is the Garden of Eden of incompetence" - Marx the Smarter (Groucho))
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To: Seruzawa

I have no response to that.


3 posted on 08/29/2023 4:01:34 PM PDT by vrwc1
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To: Seruzawa

Well, I don’t like the comment “Nora Ephron used to say about rom-coms that they were really a secretly incredible delivery system to comment on the times, and we do that in this movie.” I hope that does not mean ‘woke’ stuff.

But there is precious little to see in the movies today. I hope this one is even just mildly entertaining.


4 posted on 08/29/2023 4:02:41 PM PDT by Beowulf9
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To: Beowulf9

So she’s finally over that Gladiator guy?


5 posted on 08/29/2023 4:03:05 PM PDT by JZelle
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To: Beowulf9

I loved Meg Ryan. She screwed up her marriage and career which was a shame. Her pics look good - hopefully the plastic surgery and botox have calmed down.


6 posted on 08/29/2023 4:06:13 PM PDT by peggybac (My will is what I wanted. God's will is what I got.)
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To: Seruzawa

Did she change her face again for this movie?


7 posted on 08/29/2023 4:06:26 PM PDT by Herodes
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To: JZelle

Meg Ryan was with John Cougar Mellencamp for quite some time.

She was really, really cute before the Botox crap...and had a very strong resemblance to my wife (5’ blue eyed blonde and literally the girl next door) who lost to cancer at 28.

“Sleepless” was my favorite MR movie...perhaps because I could relate to the theme.


8 posted on 08/29/2023 4:12:48 PM PDT by newfreep ("There is no race problem...just a problem race")
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To: Herodes

9 posted on 08/29/2023 4:17:03 PM PDT by newfreep ("There is no race problem...just a problem race")
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To: Beowulf9

who? what?


10 posted on 08/29/2023 4:19:06 PM PDT by devane617 (Discipline Is Reliable, Motivation Is Fleeting..)
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To: Beowulf9

When Harry Met Sally is one of my favorite movies. I watch it every New Years Eve.


11 posted on 08/29/2023 4:25:08 PM PDT by MD Expat in PA (No. I am not a doctor nor have I ever played one on TV. The MD in my screen name stands for Maryland)
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To: Beowulf9
I always liked Meg Ryan.

But, I am a little doubtful her shtick is going to work well with a story about a former couple, now both in their early 60s.

12 posted on 08/29/2023 4:53:29 PM PDT by zeestephen (Trump "Lost" By 43,000 Votes - Spread Across Three States - GA, WI, AZ)
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To: MD Expat in PA

It’s my brothers fav also. I do watch it from time to time, own it on Amazon. It’s really cute, except for that part in the restaurant which everyone else seems to find funny. I hate stuff like that.

But I think there are a lot of people who like Meg Ryan and were sorry there were no more of her movies. I think she’s making a good move here. I hope the movie is good :)

We all need a good movie. The pickin’s out there have been slim.

I really liked all her movies but especially French Kiss.


13 posted on 08/29/2023 4:58:22 PM PDT by Beowulf9
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To: Beowulf9

For you Brits...David Tennant and Michael Sheen have a series where they Zoom with each other during Covid to prepare for a play. I enjoyed it but it might not really transfer to American humor. It got good reviews. It’s called Staged. It has a lot of cameos from people like Judi Dench, Samuel Jackson, and Brit actors you may have never heard of like Frost and Pegg. The guy from Monty Python makes an appearance and really drags them.

But it is not something you can have on in the background. You have to actually watch it since there is a visual component to it.


14 posted on 08/29/2023 5:19:40 PM PDT by RummyChick
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To: RummyChick

you can watch Staged on Britbox or for free on youtube


15 posted on 08/29/2023 5:25:29 PM PDT by RummyChick
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To: Beowulf9

You’ve Got Mail is one of only two or three chick flicks that I like.Years ago my girlfriend and I even visited that “community garden” on the Upper West Side that was featured at the very end.


16 posted on 08/29/2023 6:06:14 PM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Two Words: BANANA REPUBLIC!)
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To: RummyChick

Tennant and Sheen are brilliant in those - and in Good Omens.


17 posted on 08/29/2023 6:06:34 PM PDT by Moonmad27
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To: Seruzawa
I still think that Joe Vs The Volcano was the zenith of her career.

I liked it. And a part for Abe Vigoda too.

But anything with David Duchovny?! I'll pass!

18 posted on 08/29/2023 6:06:36 PM PDT by Rummyfan (In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized of man)
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To: Beowulf9

French Kiss is absolutely charming. Just such a funny & sweet romance. One of my favorites. Kevin Kline can do no wrong.


19 posted on 08/29/2023 6:08:02 PM PDT by leaning conservative (snow coming, school cancelled, yayyyyyyyyy!!!!!!)
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To: JZelle

She’s with Johnny Cougar now.


20 posted on 08/29/2023 6:08:11 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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