THE STORY – Thirty-something Millennial Emma breaks up with her boyfriend after he says he’s not wanting to have a baby. A girls-night-out with her sister leads to a May-December romance with Zoomer grad student Luke, but things get complicated when she discovers that her new flame was the four-year-old she babysat as a teenager.
THE CAST – Annie Murphy, Cooper Raiff, Zosia Mamet, Christine Baranski, John Gemberling, Finn Wittrock & Bill Irwin
THE TEAM – Scarlett Bermingham & Andrew Rhymer (Directors) & David West Read (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 104 Minutes
The opening scenes of “All That She Wants” feature Annie Murphy in a satirical panty-liners holiday commercial that her Emmy-winning “Schitt’s Creek” character, Alexis Rose, performs as a sincere dance routine. If “All That She Wants” is your introduction to Murphy’s comedy style, you are in for a powerhouse performer. Her screwball charisma carries this endearing Canadian rom-com to fruition. She’s an absolute joy to watch, and her genius spontaneity lends fitting energy to a messy portrait of millennial love. If this is sounding like the Annie Murphy show, it certainly is. However, the film has plenty of shining stars orbiting around her, from a sparkling script (penned by “Schitt’s Creek” writer and executive producer David West Read) to a charming ensemble of actors. Hysterical and soulful, “All That She Wants” delivers on what makes a rom-com feel comforting. And rest assured, it includes a needle drop of the Ace of Base ’90s song of the same name.
Murphy plays Emma, a thirty-something dancer in Toronto, unsure of her next steps. Stuck in a perpetually toxic relationship with her boyfriend Spencer (Finn Wittrock), Emma floats through life as a passenger to his decisions. Her vibrant personality and wit shrink whenever he’s around. The dynamic feels especially evident during a casual dinner night with Emma’s sister Macy (Zosia Mamet) and her husband Drew (John Gemberling). Macy and Drew are the Marie and Jess (“When Harry Met Sally”) of this story: a stable couple whose relationship casts a safety net whenever Emma needs a foundation to fall on. Part of this net is Macy’s pregnancy, which nurses Emma’s baby fever. Babbling over young families at the local coffee shop, Emma realizes what she wants. She just doesn’t know how to get there, but her breakup with Spencer and move into Macy’s baby room mark a step in that direction. Emma finally starts dancing to her own tune, and it makes for a refreshing story about a woman who unapologetically chooses herself and gains confidence along the way.
Playing close sisters on different paths, Murphy and Mamet dance on our funny bones through pitch-perfect comedic timing. They make the dialogue sing and layer in incredible physical humor in relatable scenarios, especially for the thirty-something crowd. In a standout sequence, Emma and Macy show up to “da club” at 9:30 pm on a Friday evening and expect a full house, but find themselves the only two people there. “This club came highly recommended on Yelp” shines among several examples of Mamet’s impeccable delivery. The pair leave and return moments later to find a lineup out the door. This sparks a hilarious bit where they lie their way back into the club, attempting to avoid paying a cover charge. Emma and Macy’s relationship stands out among the script’s more humorous, grounded elements. Their night out also leads to the film’s central romance: an unexpected age-gap relationship that teaches Emma what she really wants out of life.
Emma stumbles into Luke (Cooper Raiff), a Gen-Z graduate student who lives in a scruffy dorm room and seems to have a fairly strong handle on who he is. Luke’s specific interests, such as his reverence for the French-Canadian record “Oh mon papa,” don’t gel with everyone, but strike a chord with Emma. They have a one-night stand, described as the best sex she’s ever had, until a reveal about Luke’s backstory changes the vibe. She discovers he was “little Lukie,” the four-year-old kid she babysat as a teenager. As panic sets in, Emma awkwardly retreats, and the two go their separate ways until they unexpectedly reconnect two years later. Their relationship becomes a charming story about generational conflict and self-actualization as they learn to understand their full potential.
Emotional bonding through an age-gap romance is familiar territory for Raiff, who explored the subject with Dakota Johnson in his film “Cha Cha Real Smooth.” It’s become a recognizable concept in the coming-of-age rom-com genre, but “All That She Wants” makes it feel fresh and uniquely funny. Murphy and Raiff also share delightfully disarming chemistry, raising the emotional stakes as they play into the “Will they or won’t they?” relationship dynamic. In a fun Niagara Falls-set sequence, where Emma and Luke pivot from a mistakenly booked San Jose baby-making trip, the film strikes a wildly amusing balance between silly and sincere. This sequence also gives both Murphy and Raiff’s comedic sensibilities time to shine. While the characters’ inevitable conflict builds to a rushed conclusion, the enjoyable chemistry glosses over pacing issues.
Most refreshingly, the film is grounded in Emma’s journey of figuring out her desires by discovering what she doesn’t want. This development plays out with a bouncy energy. The screenplay is filled with crackling dialogue, made memorable through excellent comedic timing and visual gags. The character-driven jokes lend to several moments of physical comedy gold, especially from Murphy. She leads the film with incredible charm, using body language and situational humor to find the funny bones of her character’s circumstances. Murphy balances this lightheartedness with Emma’s restlessness about the future as she learns to let go of what no longer serves her, including her dancing career. This news disappoints her father (Bill Irwin), who brings immense joy with limited screen time.
Directors Scarlett Bermingham and Andrew Rhymer find strength in a fabulous supporting cast, and lean into why we love them as performers. For instance, with fingers on the pulse of what audiences might want, they give Bill Irwin a charming little musical number at a recital. The number serves as a satisfying payoff for this character, a self-described retired army dad who channels secret dance ambitions. The film also weaves this ambition in small ways, namely his driveway tradition of doing a goodbye dance whenever a guest leaves his home. Adding to the charm, they cast Christine Baranski as Emma’s judgmental mother, notably an unexpected “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” reunion. Baranski’s character has a stutter, which the story incorporates rather half-heartedly. It’s the catalyst for Emma’s decision to enroll in a master’s program for speech-language pathology, but the light-hearted approach undercuts a more impactful emotional resonance. The film rushes through a lot of unexplored mother-daughter tension in the second half.
Despite the minor flaws, “All That She Wants” feels destined to become a contemporary rom-com staple, especially around the holidays. A Toronto-set story and a starry showcase for Annie Murphy, it’s a welcome Canadian addition to the genre and a clear sign that Murphy is one of the most exciting talents of her generation.
