(Canada, 97 min.)
Dir. Michael Dowse, Writ. Elan Mastai
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe
Kazan, Megan Park, Adam Driver, Mackenzie Davis, Rafe Spall.
 |
| Zoe Kazan plays Chantry and Daniel Radcliffe plays Wallace in THE F WORD, an eOne Films release |
Okay, I’m just going to come out and say it: I love The F Word! It’s literally been years
since anyone delivered a romantic comedy that feels so refreshingly authentic
and true, and I just can’t help but fall head over heels for this charming,
warm, and infectiously feel-good-funny film. This Toronto-shot (and
Toronto-set!) rom-com hits all the right notes as Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan
give a pair of winning performances as two star-crossed friends who might
ultimately be the perfect match. The F
Word might be the best romantic comedy this country has ever produced.
The F Word, re-titled What If in the States for Americans who find the word “friend” too risqué, takes a situation that audiences have seen before and rewrites it with more heart and honesty than rom-coms usually receive. The F Word tells the age-old story of boy meets girl when Wallace (Radcliffe) writes some fridge magnet poetry after being dumped by his girlfriend (Enemy’s Sarah Gadon) and his clever wordplay/mopey outlook on love catches the attention of a fellow partier named Chantry (Kazan). Wallace and Chantry hit it off and get along famously as they ease into a back-and-forth banter that’s a mix of flirting and familiar repartee. They’re a natural fit and they seem so comfortable together that romance looks to be in the air right until Wallace walks Chantry home to her door. Then she mentions The Boyfriend.
The F Word asks if
two members of the opposite sex can maintain a purely platonic relationship
when they have the synergy and spark that usually leads to romance. As Wallace
and Chantry get to know each other better as friends, playing Ping-Pong at Spin
or grabbing coffee at The Rooster, The F
Word shows them escalating their friendship to the point where intimacy
seems inevitable. Sex and romance are just steps away as the tango of Wallace
and Chantry’s relationship skirts around will-they-or-won’t-they jumping points
where either one seems ready to risk it all and say the unsayable.
The F Word fuels
the tricky dance between friendship and romance thanks to the beautiful script
by Elan Mastai, which scooped a Canadian Screen Award for Best Adapted
Screenplay earlier this year (the film is based on the play “Toothpaste and
Cigars” by TJ Dawe and Mike Rinaldi). Mastai’s hilarious screenplay perfectly fuels
Wallace and Chantry’s relationship with fun back-and-forth banter as the pair
moves in harmony by joking about everything from their past failures to Elvis’s
treasured Fool’s Gold sandwich—a disgustingly delectable sounding thing
comprised of a hollowed-out loaf of Italian bread filled with butter, peanut
butter, jelly, and lots and lots of bacon. (Fool’s Gold plays the top banana in
this relationship driven by food and its ability to bring people together.) The F Word has a natural ear for the way
people of Wallace and Chantry’s generation speak in jokes and pop-culture
references, both in person and via mediated communication, and the screenplay
is just as authentic as it is amusing. The
F Word also lets the casual humor between Wallace and Chantry play a duel
role of showing their perfect match and mutual brainwave at the same time that
their clever repartee offers a defense mechanism that guards the two from
acknowledging the obvious connection that could easily break them apart if
broached poorly.
The F Word effortlessly captures the complexity of Wallace and
Chantry’s conundrum. The film is very honest in the way it presents the
difficulty in finding that impossibly perfect moment to risk everything in a
great friendship and take that leap to become more than just friends. It’s
apparent in the mutually unspoken desire within Radcliffe and Kazan’s
performances, but also in their naturally droll conversations with friends who
point out the obvious facts to which Wallace and Chantry are willfully blind.
A great supporting cast including Adam Driver, Mackenzie
Davis, and Megan Park nudges the friends to take the leap. They raise the
subject in amusingly casual ways (special props go to Davis for her
scene-stealing turn as the straight-talking Nicole) and in their own efforts to
pursue relationships even if it means embarrassment or rejection. (Megan Parks
excels in this area as Chantry’s hilarious hopelessly romantic sister.) Rafe
Spall’s equally likable turn as Chantry’s boyfriend Ben ensures that Wallace
doesn’t have an all-out-unlikable foe, while Sarah Gadon is remarkably
effective in her brief appearance as Wallace’s ex, who shows that even a guilty
party can be hurt by a relationship torn by infidelity. The ensemble of The F Word embraces the awkwardness of
Wallace and Chantry’s situation and the emotional vulnerability that lies in
exposing oneself to one’s closest friends.
The performances by Radcliffe and Kazan, however, drive
every frame of the film. They’re fluently charming, likable, and funny, and
their chemistry is a natural fit for their characters. Radcliffe displays an
unexpected comedic strength and a dashing ability to play the romantic lead
while Kazan is irresistibly effervescent and sweet. This pair of dazzling
performances gives romantic comedy one of the best matches the genre has seen
in years: they’re such a perfect match that one would swear the actors are really
in love.
Director Michael Dowse (Goon)
brings all the right elements together to make The F Word the warmest, smartest, and funniest romantic comedy in
some time. This charismatic film gives nods to some of the genre’s greatest
hits and gives them a hip contemporary spin. When Harry Met Sally-ish lunch dates become orgasmic nibbles over
deep fried pickles and fatty sandwiches, and a Pretty Woman-y run-in with a haughty salesgirl offers a vehicle for
a beautifully intimate scene in a dressing room that fully realizes the spark
between Wallace and Chantry. Even Canada’s own Take the Waltz gets a nod when two lovers play the game of teasing
their mate about the brutal things they’d do to one another to prove their
love.
It’s lovely to see a Canadian film like Take this Waltz get a mention amongst its contemporary
counterparts, since The F Word
lovingly uses its Toronto setting as an integral character of the film. Dowse
shoots The F Word amidst familiar
locations like Chinatown and The Beach—the Toronto porn is recognizable even to
a wannabe Torontonian. Wallace and Chantry even take in a screening of The Princess Bride at Toronto’s Royal
Theatre. The Little Italy movie house offers a fine stepping-stone for asking
if Wallace and Chantry’s relationship could offer something more as the pair
bonds over their mutual enjoyment over seeing a movie alone in a theatre with
neither of them saying, but clearly thinking, that the film would best be enjoyed
with a partner. This movie lovers’ movie is worthy of the rom-coms to which it
pays homage.
Rating: ★★★★★ (out of ★★★★★)
The F Word opens in theatres August 22 from eOne Films.
It returns to Ottawa Oct. 9 at The ByTowne.
It returns to Ottawa Oct. 9 at The ByTowne.
