User reviews

A good cast and good acting is what kept this story afloat, as unlikely as the plot seemed. Most young gay guys would never consider dating a much older man. Here we have an age gap of at least 30 years. So what we end up with is a very contrived romance comedy of sorts. Many gay themed movies have had "out" characters who insist that anyone they intend to date has to be totally comfortable with public displays of over affection. I think it's completely rational to expect discretion in public spaces by refraining from strong statements of affection. As is typical, in this movie, we have the young gay character demanding that his older, romantic partner be willing to publicly display their affection for one another, or else it's a no go. Sounds more like an unreasonable spoiled brat to me. Still....a cute movie with good acting, good production values and worth watching at least once.

I've been waiting for this movie for a long time. It is far from stellar execution, but certainly not the worst for a low budget film. The script could be cleaned up a bit. The acting isn't great and a few shots could have used a few more takes to make them more real and believable.

Overall, I can't complain about the total experience. The main content of the film should be familiar to absolutely anyone who has been apart of a gay relationship. The reality is that different people are at different stages of coming out given any couple. This puts a strain on the relationship.

This movie explores how this can evolve and how both sides are responsible for the problems caused by having a justified unwillingness to compromise on how public the relationship should be. The pacing may feel slow to people used to blockbusters, but it suits the film just right as it lets the relationship develop and breathe at the appropriate speed considering the circumstances.

Maybe in today's age this is becoming less of an issue, but any gay couple should easily relate to and find real truth in this unique romance.

I think this movie may have originally been meant to be a play but it adapts well. I enjoyed it much more than most independent movies. I do not find anything cliché about it. There are several duos of characters present who are each coming to terms with what they know of particular relationships in their lives or what they think they know of those relationships. I think the acting ability in this is fair. There are several new faces to see but they each demonstrate a proficient ability. There are some very to scenes to put this in the quirky category which I like. I enjoyed this film.I think it is definitely worth a watch.

The idea of the film is very good, the story is very good. Those are the only good things about it. Bad photography, poor actor direction (you can see the actors are good but aren't being led in the right way), the story is full of gaps - situations and characters that lack development -, the dialogs are sometimes artificial, the soundtrack is badly used - you barely notice it, in a bad way -, errors in continuity (you see the characters eating but the plate stays full throughout the scene), reflections of studio light on the walls, misfit colors (filtering?). It could have been and should have been so much better. What a waste of wonderful plot...

I gave this movie a 2 because at times Wendy Malick was watchable. The rest was painful at best. The dialogue is horrible and trite. The acting wasn't nearly good enough to save the dialogue. The characters were false and empty at best. They were either boring and made no sense or over the top and made no sense. All in all - OUCH! The premise was interesting, but there wasn't enough motivation to move the story along. I think the writer might have been trying for one of those quirky, independent, everyone is connected whether they know it or not movies - but if so it hasn't been achieved.

The only saving grace of this movie was Wendy Malick. She is funny and fun to watch. Her portrayal of Elise is great. When she shares a scene with others (such as Chris Murrah, who plays Andy) her performance and what she brings to the role elevates the performances of the others.

This movie by no means will win an Oscar, however, it is a sweet story that I found very refreshing. They don't rely on sex or your typical "hot guys" and nudity, as most gay movies do. There are some continuity errors (they are forgivable) and some of the dialog may be a little forced. The story however is the saving grace. I like the message it has and I like that they didn't make any of the characters victims or whinny. You know going in how this movie will end and it doesn't disappoint. I thought the main cast did a very good job Wendie Malick was great to watch and you could see she was having fun with the role. Jon Lindstrom played the part very uptight as it should be. The Character is in his 50s and was a CEO if you expect him to be anything but conservative and uptight then you haven't worked with many CEOs (Tech Company CEO's don't count). Chris Murrah was very good and again it was nice to see a younger gay character that I would consider a more normal slightly above average in looks person. He was something that I think everyone could relate too. If you want to watch a good movie with a nice story and characters that you can relate to then definitely watch this.

The actor playing the gay guy must of been the author of this movie because he sure as heck is not an actor. I looked him up on IMDb and this is his only credit. No surprise there. This is like a commercial for being gay, and so cliché. The gay guys are so gay. The main one, Andy wears baseball caps that say San Francisco, and PFLAG, ( families for gay and lesbians, who must of helped pay the film, since he wears this cap most of the film). One word for this movie, clunky and awkward. It feels like a student video for school. The idea was to show a middle age man discovering he is gay. Labored bad sitcom writing, making points with baseball hats. Groan. Yes that bad.

Wendy Malick, who plays Elise (and for some reason I can't see credited in the cast list above … maybe she didn't want her name associated with this movie??) was about the only central character in this film who was believable, although at times even she seemed to be overplaying her role.

Paul is in his fifties and has no inkling that he's gay. Right. He's been a successful businessman who just sold his business and is a bit at a loss as to what he's going to do now that he's retired. He meets Andy, who is in his twenties, in the park. Andy strikes up a conversation with Paul. Paul acts like this is the first person he's ever met. He's unable to respond to even the simplest questions without long pauses. I mean does it really take 15 seconds for a successful businessman to come up with a response to, "ok if I sit here?" and other things normal people can react to without a thought? And the twenty year old Andy falls in love with the 55 year old Paul who can't seem to carry on the simplest conversation, seems to be really uptight & uncomfortable about anything gay, is nearly twice his age and Andy isn't even sure Paul is gay … right.

The characters, their interactions, the dialogue and the inconsistencies in their behavior are all difficult to believe. What happens next or in this case what happens at the end of the movie, is a bit difficult to swallow as well.

Some funny moments … the dogs are cute … but I spent most of the movie feeling uncomfortable about it all and, what I assume was supposed to be a happy ending didn't relieve this discomfort.

The scenario of What Happens Next is that a good, wealthy, middle-aged and apparently straight confirmed bachelor CEO retires and discovers his inner self, his budding gay inner self. This film would have been a camp riot if it starred Doris Day and the late Rock Hudson, but Jon Lindstorm in the lead just can't pull it off.

He seemed too reserved from start to finish. I never felt his character became alive. He never blossomed, never really relished his new out gay identity, which was the main thrust of the movie. Without that, there is no substance to What Happens Next. You don't care what happens next. The cinematography appears seriously flawed. Lindstorm looked jaundiced throughout the picture, as if he had terminal hepatitis.

Chris Murrah as Lindstorm's love interest was superb, his performance was right on target, tender, enjoyable, believable. Had Murrah been paired with a stronger, more healthy-looking onscreen partner, the result may have been more effective.

I've read other reviews, and they extoll the awards that female lead Wendie Malick has earned, but that doesn't burnish her wholly peripheral performance here, nor does it sharpen the flat script. A movie can only stand on its own merits, and What Happens Next unfortunately fails on all accounts. Don't waste an hour-and-a-half of your life waiting for a payoff that never arrives.

The idea of a man in his 50s not realizing (or accepting) the fact that he may be gay is a good one. Unfortunately the execution of the idea is done so badly with a weak script and really bad acting, that the movie just doesn't make it off the ground. It plays like a 50s sitcom or a stage play. It appears to be a low-budget production so that may have been a barrier to good production. Wendy Malik pays her usual stereotypical character but even that couldn't save the movie!

This little film is an unexpected knock-out - absolutely first rate. Made in Philadelphia, set around Rittenhouse Square, the location shooting is beautiful and the City of Brotherly Love looked more European than American. The cast is uniformly superb - an outstanding ensemble with each character developed and interesting. The storyline was consistently plausible and fascinating making you wonder constantly just how things would turn out. The dramatic climax was almost Shakespearean in its complexity but also very, very funny. The cast, although mostly unknown is highlighted by one of the gals from the hit TV show, Hot in Cleveland, Wendi Malick.

I read the synopsis and it piqued my interest. So I watched this movie. And I regretted it. The movie didn't show anything that's actually funny. It supposed to be a rom-com, right? And the romance? As if! I've never had to swallow anything so hard in my life like I had to swallow the idea of the two main characters are lovers. They had absolutely zero chemistry. I don't know if it's the director's fault (maybe the directors is a robot who doesn't understand human's emotions), or the lousy acting of the actors (or maybe the director told them, to do it like that?). But through the entirety of the movie, I felt no chemistry between them, there's no spark, no believable passion. It felt like watching two men pretending to like each other, to a point that I can feel the pretenses.

Maybe the script was bad?

Maybe the directing was the bad one?

Maybe the acting?

Or maybe all of the above?

Who knows?

Having read most of the reviews, I'm almost embarrassed to say that I really enjoyed the movie. I will probably watch it again. Again as I have mentioned in other reviews of or the movies it is not academy award winning material but so what? It was to me a fun and pleasant movie to watch. It was feel good and it had a good story line. Did it have some issues like the plate that never emptied yes but it had a good enough plot, the acting was fine and it made me want to keep watching. I can overlook many things in a movie if it makes me want to keep watching and makes me feel good. And this one did that for me.