When We First Met

The "friend zone" is a term that has (rightfully) taken a beating in recent years. It implies that friendship is a consolation prize or a holding pen for a romance that’s being unfairly denied. When I first sat down to watch When We First Met, I was fully prepared to roll my eyes at a protagonist who felt entitled to a woman’s affection just because he was "nice." But three years into the streaming-first era, this 2018 Netflix original actually manages to deconstruct that exact entitlement, even if it has to break the space-time continuum to do it.

I watched this while nursing a mild sunburn from a failed beach day, and the cool, neon-blue glow of the magical photo booth in the film felt strangely soothing against my lobster-red forehead. It’s exactly the kind of movie you want when your brain is a little fried—low stakes, bright colors, and a lead actor who is constantly shouting.

The Groundhog Day of Friend-Zoning

The setup is classic high-concept comedy: Adam Devine (who many of us first loved as the unhinged Bumper in Pitch Perfect) plays Noah, a guy who spent the "perfect" night with Avery (Alexandra Daddario) three years ago, only to end the evening with a platonic hug. Cut to the present: Avery is getting engaged to the impossibly handsome, incredibly dull Ethan (Robbie Amell), and Noah is miserable. He gets drunk, stumbles into a vintage photo booth, and—poof—he’s back in 2014, given a chance to fix his "mistake."

Adam Devine basically plays a caffeinated golden retriever with a time machine, and your mileage will vary depending on how much of his elastic-faced energy you can handle. Personally, I find his commitment to the bit endearing. He isn't afraid to look like an absolute idiot, which is essential because Noah’s attempts to "win" Avery are increasingly desperate and creepy. Whether he's trying to be a "bad boy" or a sophisticated professional, the movie smartly shows that you can't actually hack a human being's heart.

A Modern Spin on a Classic Loop

What makes this feel like a product of its time—the late 2010s—is how it engages with the "nice guy" trope. Director Ari Sandel (who did a great job with The DUFF) and writer John Whittington (The LEGO Batman Movie) seem aware that the traditional rom-com setup can be a bit problematic. Every time Noah "succeeds" in dating Avery, he realizes he’s essentially created a timeline where they aren't actually compatible. It’s a critique of the "perfect on paper" philosophy that dominated early Tinder-era dating conversations.

The supporting cast is where the real magic happens. Andrew Bachelor (King Bach to the Vine-nostalgic crowd) is solid as the best friend, but the absolute standout is Shelley Hennig as Carrie. She’s Avery’s cynical, observant photographer friend, and her chemistry with Adam Devine is so much more natural than the central obsession. Apparently, Shelley Hennig was actually a Miss Teen USA winner, but she has the deadpan comedic timing of a seasoned indie darling.

Stuff You Didn't Notice

One of the more interesting behind-the-scenes wrinkles is that the film was actually shot in New Orleans, though it's set in a vaguely "generic" version of a major city. The jazz club where Noah and Avery first meet, "The House of Blues," is a real staple of the NOLA scene. Interestingly, Alexandra Daddario and Robbie Amell had just worked together on another Netflix hit, The Babysitter, which came out the year before. They went from being in a high-octane horror-comedy to a sweet time-travel romance, which shows just how tight the "Netflix repertory" of actors was becoming during this period.

The production also leaned heavily into 2014 nostalgia, which felt oddly recent in 2018 but now feels like a lifetime ago. Look closely at the background of the party scenes; the filmmakers were meticulous about removing any tech that didn't exist four years prior. Also, the photo booth itself was a custom-built prop designed to look "timeless" rather than purely retro, a choice by the production team to keep the fantasy element from feeling too much like a Back to the Future knock-off.

Ultimately, When We First Met is a breezy, charming entry into the time-loop subgenre. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it does suggest that the wheel might be rolling in the wrong direction if you're trying to force a connection that isn't there. It’s a film that understands that sometimes the "one that got away" actually got away for a very good reason. I didn't expect a movie starring the guy from Workaholics to give me a lesson in emotional maturity, but the ending is surprisingly sweet and earned. It’s the perfect Sunday afternoon watch—just make sure you wear sunscreen if you’re heading to the beach afterward.