#TIFF26: “ALL THAT SHE WANTS” REVIEW

By David Baldwin

Emma (Emmy-winner Annie Murphy) is in her 30s and has just broken up with her long term jerk of a boyfriend. She goes out clubbing soon after and meets college kid Luke (Cha Cha Real Smooth’s Cooper Raiff). They hit it off, sleep together, and in the morning quickly find out that Emma used to babysit Luke when he was an infant.

Sitcom-esque shenanigans, growing pains and the age gap discourse ensue for our totally perfect and destined-for-each-other couple. It is all pretty standard stuff – and even includes an important subplot involving a baby – and tends to fall into the same romantic comedy tropes you can rattle off verbatim before they happen. Yet even a cynical, depressed critic like me could not help but smile, laugh and cry through ALL THAT SHE WANTS, holding onto every adorable moment between Murphy and Raiff. They are both great and hilarious young actors in their own right, but have a delightful, winning chemistry here that gets better with each subsequent scene (though we already knew Raiff was good at playing a 20-something in love with an older woman). While there could have been a bit more introspection and depth afforded to Murphy and a lot less of whatever the hell weird things Bill Irwin is doing, I feel like the magnetic charge pulsing between Murphy and Raiff more than makes up for any qualms you might have.

Supporting work from Zosia Mamet, John Gemberling and Christine Baranski are all well done as well, each getting more than their fair share of laughs and time to shine. And I would be remiss to not mention what a joy it is to see Toronto play herself on-screen. Any time that happens is a cause for celebration all on its own.

ALL THAT SHE WANTS screens at TIFF ‘26:

Sun. Sept 13 at 9:30 PM at TIFF Lightbox

Tues. Sept 15 at 6:15 PM at Scotiabank Theatre

Sat. Sept 19 at 6:20 PM at Scotiabank Theatre