“What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?”

That’s the heart of the film from Director Kristoffer Borgli (of Dream Scenario fame). Having longtime sweethearts Charlie (Robert Pattinson) and Emma (Zendaya) unearth their deepest darkest secrets to each other as they are running headlong into wedding planning is a fun and zippy way to wrestle with our own demons. But part of the issue is that the confession, while bold and more than a little shocking, feels less damning than the couple’s best friends Rachel (Alana Haim) and Mike (Mamadou Athie) would have you believe. After the confession the tires screech on the cute budding romance of the film, letting us know that THIS is what will be being discussed moving forward. And while it deserves some dissection, it’s hard to argue that the discussion at the center can bear the weight of a feature film.

The film navigates a few other areas surrounding the confession. Politics mostly, the schism between leftist and gun violence (that in some ways seems to be deteriorating every day, further undercutting the film’s point) is at the heart. But also, much like Borgli’s other film, it wants to tackle cancel culture, a problem that also seems to be less and less concerning as the days tick by. Because of how couched the film is in having this discussion it dates itself, not even in the moment, but what feels like a moment half a decade ago, or even further back. There are simply more things to worry about in 2026 than frivolous political spats. The biggest nail it tries to hit home is on gun violence in schools, but even that is undercut by an event that does not occur.

While the confession of the movie spends too much time on advocating for itself, it is at least helped along a little by solid work from both Pattinson and Zendaya. Haim is a magnificent heel for the film, leaning into her role of playing the foil for Zendaya’s Emma. And it’s often quite funny! Not even just in the script, but shots of Zendaya posing in her confession. Looking for all the world like a problematic pinup model is excellent film making and a great use of visual language. But even after all that, the love story of their lives is more captivating than what the movie seems to want to spend the bulk of its time on. The final shot of the two of them meeting up after their wedding is a better explanation of love than most movies can muster over one hundred and twenty minutes. Perhaps Borgli should have simply made a rom com, he seems to have a talent for it!

Borgli’s films are interesting enough to merit perusal, but often wind up feeling like they want to appear smarter than they are. Like a riddle your uncle told you when you were young, we will likely look back and realize that the jape was more the point than the actual meat of the matter after all. Perhaps that’s the lesson, but I doubt it. I think Borgli is having fun and hoping we won’t notice. Still, at the end of the day, it’s good to see movie stars working in small pictures.

3/5