Once thought of as “America’s Sweetheart” because of her endearing roles in a series of romantic comedies and heartwarming films, Meg Ryan’s new movie What Happens Later continues a 25-year Rotten Tomatoes streak of negative reviews. Ryan became one of the most beloved actresses in the world after moves like You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, and When Harry Met Sally. Since the early 2000s, however, her career has been more defined by a long run of flops and poorly reviewed films. After taking a break from acting, there was hope that her latest romantic comedy could break the trend.
Meg Ryan’s rom-com movie return to acting opposite David Duchovny in What Happens Later seemingly does not live up to expectations. The movie is about a woman who finds herself trapped in an airport overnight with her ex, and the two spend the night snowed in and reminisce about their past relationship and what might have been. Rotten Tomatoes has now aggregated an official audience score and critics score for What Happens Later, with 37 critics giving it an aggregated score of 54% and an audience score of just 32%. That performance means a bad streak for Meg Ryan continues.
Meg Ryan Hasn’t Starred In A Well-Reviewed Movie Since You’ve Got Mail
The rotten score for What Happens Later is the latest in a 25-year streak of bad reviews for Meg Ryan’s movies. The last movie for Meg Ryan that received Fresh review scores from critics is You’ve Got Mail, which was released in December 1998, almost exactly 25 years ago. Since that time, Ryan has starred in 11 films that have received rotten scores on Rotten Tomatoes based on the opinions of film critics. She also has credits on three more movies that do not qualify for an official Rotten Tomatoes score, but the limited sample of reviews for each skew mixed-to-negative.
The 54% rating for What Happens Later is her highest score in 22 years, with Kate and Leopold finishing with a 52% score, but still falls below the Fresh threshold. In the 17 years between her film debut in Rich and Famous in 1981, and You’ve Got Mail, Ryan had 14 total movies receive a Fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes, but none since the year 1998. She did mostly pause her acting career between 2009 and 2023, but her return to the big screen did not do enough to break her negative review streak. See a list of all Ryan’s Fresh movies below.
Year | Title | RT Score |
1981 | Rich and Famous | 60% |
1987 | Promised Land | 73% |
1987 | Innerspace | 82% |
1988 | D.O.A. | 62% |
1989 | When Harry Met Sally | 91% |
1990 | Joe Versus the Volcano | 67% |
1992 | Prelude to a Kiss | 63% |
1993 | Sleepless in Seattle | 73% |
1993 | Flesh and Bone | 65% |
1994 | When a Man Loves a Woman | 69% |
1995 | Restoration | 71% |
1996 | Courage Under Fire | 86% |
1998 | You’ve Got Mail | 70% |
Why What Happens Later’s Rotten Tomatoes Score Is So Bad
Generally, critics and reviewers of the film welcome Meg Ryan back to movies with open arms, but have a number of problems with the plot and construction of What Happens Later. A common theme among reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes is that for a romantic comedy, the movie is just not that funny and seems to have more serious overtones than the light fare audiences are used to with Meg Ryan movies. Critics also panned the confined space of the movie which does not let the two leads separate and build the tension of any impending reconciliation.
In addition, Meg Ryan has decades of experience and more than a dozen movies under the category of romantic comedy, but this is a fairly new venture for David Duchovny after years of drama, science-fiction, and dark comedies. As it was in years past, Meg Ryan’s comedic timing and conversational style in What Happens Later lends itself well to the film, but Duchovny has a hard time matching her charisma. To see Meg Ryan back in movies is certainly a treat, but it wasn’t enough for critics to break her 25-year streak of poorly-reviewed films.
