There’s nothing like the experience of first love. Even when we feel like we’ve got our lives figured out, love has the ability to come in and wreck all our plans. In Tiffany Paulsen’s directorial debut, Winter Spring Summer or Fall, that’s exactly what happens. Written by Dan Schoffer, the film stars Jenna Ortega and Percy Hynes White as they reunite from Wednesday to tell the story of two highschoolers transitioning into the real world. This romantic dramedy leans heavily on familiar tropes and often underwhelms. But at least the two leads have enough chemistry to keep viewers engaged.
Remy (Ortega) is the child prodigy to two lawyer parents Javier (Adam Rodriguez) and Carmen (Marisol Nichols). An exceptional student of mathematics, history, and other subjects at school, she’s got her sights set on attending an ivy league college after high school. To jumpstart her search and experience, Remy plans a trip to visit a friend at Columbia University. En route, she meets Barnes (White), a music-obsessed free spirit who seems to have no plans at all for his feature. Originally, this deters Remy away from Barnes altogether. However, as the two begin to cross paths frequently, their undeniable attraction enables her to relax and take a leap of faith with him.
Paulsen does all she can to craft a memorable romantic drama, but it’s ultimately underwhelming and forgettable.
Told over a period of four seasons, Winter Spring Summer or Fall contains a standard structure like most rom-coms do. Remy and Barnes are complete opposites, so of course there’s an immediate attraction there upon their first meeting. Keeping in line with the genre, there’s hesitation between the two at first, mostly because their potentials do not align. But the future Harvard graduate and her slacker counterpart can’t hold back their feelings any longer. Thus, a romantic relationship is born for lovers of the genre to swoon over and engulf.
This rom-com doesn’t set itself apart from anything we’ve seen before, however. Instead, it relies on the overly-used tropes to guide the story along without saying much of anything. Additionally, there’s an annoying back-and-forth that ensues as the pair decide whether or not they should be together, making it all the more difficult tolerate what’s to come. Fortunately, Ortega and White keep the romantic energy alive through their chemistry when the script begins to underwhelm. They are a fine pair onscreen. I just wish the script would cut a little deeper.
Winter Spring Summer or Fall’s script feels contrived and less romantic than it tries to be.
Paulsen does all she can to showcase a cute, first love story between Remy and Barnes as the months progress. Yet, I couldn’t help but notice that the sudden decisions made by the characters completely took me out of the movie. For one, once Remy falls in love with Barnes, she seemingly is ready to give up her entire future that she worked so hard for, for him. The script plays it off as a ‘people can change’ trope and even goes as far to show that Remy has grown into a less uptight person as a result. But these drastic changes feel contrived and unrealistic. Perhaps, it’s an explanation for love existing without logic.
Even when you think they’ve settled into their decision to be together, a random fight develops, and we’re back to square one with the ‘will they or won’t they?’ It was exhausting, to say the least. And by this time, I completely checked out Winter Spring Summer or Fall. It’s a shame too because the ending shows a hint of sweet charm that these types of films require. It’s just not enough to erase the other 60 minutes that made me want to pull my hair out over the indecisiveness.
