-Written by Kyle Bain.
Two women, Fa (Proschat Madani) and Marie Theres (Caroline Peters), in the throes of midlife struggle find one another and things begin to change. They understand love again for the first time in a long time, and they realize that happiness exists for them once more. What A Feeling is the story of these two women, as they attempt to get their lives back on track, refusing to let anyone control them.
What A Feeling is a straight-up comedy, a film that attempts to play with the idea of gender, sexuality, and more in comedic fashion. It tackles a series of modern-day struggles in a way that is easy enough to understand, but not well enough for viewers to care. I never once felt a connection to either Fa nor Marie Theres–and without that, What A Feeling ultimately means nothing to me. I certainly understand the sentiment behind the film, and it truly makes sense what Writer-Director Kat Rohrer is attempting to accomplish in her film, but I never felt it. And I can’t imagine that I’m the only one struggling in this regard. Without a connection to these two characters, there isn’t much else–almost nothing else to appreciate the film.
Other than the relationship surrounding Fa and Marie Theres, What A Feeling is a cookie-cutter love story.
Two individuals are struggling with life.
They each stumble upon the other in a twist of fate.
They aren’t sure how they feel about one another.
They have chemistry, which allows things to go a little further than planned.
Something strains the relationship.
They ultimately end up with one another by the conclusion of the film.
This is what you’ve seen and heard thousands of times. Watch any Hallmark (or similar) film, and I can guarantee that the majority of those films will take you down an almost identical path. With that, there wasn’t much of a reason to stick around–but I traversed the rocky terrain of the film nonetheless. By the end I was shaking my head. There’s nothing original, there’s nothing emotionally compelling, there’s honestly very little that is truthful and relatable throughout the course of What A Feeling.
With a title like What A Feeling I had at least hoped that emotion would play a part in the film–but emotion eludes this film. Even the standard comedic moments fail to land the way that Rohrer likely intended. I never felt bad for either of the lead characters as they struggled through a series of situations, and that’s the primary reason why I felt that aforementioned disconnect from both them and the film as a whole.
I am a self-proclaimed hater of romantic comedies, which is exactly what What A Feeling is meant to be. I was likely going to struggle with this film regardless of what magic Rohrer employed–but I felt like there was no magic at all. With a basic narrative, almost no emotion, and comedy that failed to entertain from the start, What A Feeling was a really challenging watch.
Written & Directed by Kat Rohrer.
Starring Caroline Peters, Proschat Madani, Anton Noori, Gohar Nurbachsch, Nichole Ansari-Cox, etc.
4/10 = WORTH THE RISK, BUT YOU’VE BEEN WARNED
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