On paper, “What If” has all the trappings of a run-of-the-mill “indie” rom com: awkward-but-charming lead, impossibly-successful-and-borderline-manic-pixie-dreamgirl love interest, quip-filled conversations, damaged secondary characters, quirky fascinations which seem to exist solely to be “random”…

Those are all valid criticisms. Probably. I don’t really care, because it was quite a bit better than its tropes. Characters were well-acted and fully realized, there were no “good guys” or “bad guys”, and nearly every moment which felt like it was building up to a cliche wound up subverting it with something fresh. If you’re in a cynical mood, you’ll probably find plenty of things to tear down about What If. But if you’re in the mood for a rom-com, it’s a solid one with an interesting perspective and plenty of love for its characters.