Millennials get their Mrs. Robinson moment with “All That She Wants,” an age-gap romcom titled after the 1992 Ace of Base hit. If you remember listening to that song on a cassingle, it’s time to ask your doctor about perimenopause. Professional dancer Emma (Annie Murphy) isn’t quite there yet, but in her early thirties, she’s feeling her age. Symptoms include baby fever, exacerbated by the pregnancy announcement of her sister Macy (Zosia Mamet), and an intolerance to her pompous, long-term but non-committal boyfriend Spencer (Finn Wittrock).
The film is co-directed by spouses Andrew Rhymer and (in her helming debut) Scarlett Bermingham, who previously worked on the 2019 wedding rom-com “Plus One” — Rhymer as co-writer and co-director, Bermingham as a supporting player. While the tone and look of “All That She Wants” starts out quite Netflix-y, it’s the characters and performances that elevate this to future comfort-watch territory.
While the former babysitter hiccup is ostensibly the obstacle for Emma and Charlie’s love story, Emma gets over it pretty quickly, and that speed bump is a little too contrived and minor. The biggest hurdle is Emma’s own brain. She’s hamstrung herself with the toxic perfectionism she inherited from her mother (Christine Baranski), and the expectations that she perceives other people have for her. The title “All that She Wants” might be a little cutesy (that needle-drop is both inevitable and highly anticipated), but it’s also apt. What exactly does Emma want for herself that has nothing to do with what other people have decided she should want?
Like the maneater protagonist of the song, what Emma wants is a baby — an actual human child —whether that’s considered feminist or not. She throws herself into a career change, but her desire for motherhood doesn’t abate, and she realizes that Luke might be an ideal sperm donor. He agrees because he wants to help, and to spend time with Emma. Within the confines of this transactional relationship, will Emma let herself love Luke? Or be loved by him?
