Another Version of You

By: Maggie Stankiewicz

It’s a tale as old as time. Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl while the girl falls in love with and marries someone else. Boy meets an enchanted stranger who bestows upon him the ability to enter alternate realities. Boy explores the multiverse in hopes of winning the girl over. You know, the usual. Such is the case in Another Version of You, a genre-bending romantic sci-fi that explores infatuation, regret, relationships and the endless possibilities of what could have been. Another Version of You is a flawed film, full of faulty logic and questionable decisions, but it manages to balance its inconsistencies with a healthy dose of charm making it worthy of the time and energy spent following through the multiverse.

Another Version of You opens on the day of Suzette’s (Sara Antonio) wedding, an event that devastates Diggsy (Kristopher Wente) – her childhood friend and secret admirer. Diggsy feels sorry for himself and despite encouragement from his sister Daphne (Brittany Belland) he can’t find it in within himself to celebrate her big day at the wedding reception. Instead, he leaves Suzette several somewhat pathetic voicemails before drowning his sorrows at the local watering hole. It’s here that me meets Mortimer (Eddie George) who is a fellow man scorned. Mortimer though bestows upon Diggsy a key with the power to open up parallel universes. The key is wrapped in haphazardly scribbled rules for universe jumping, the most important being that once one enters a new universe, they will be unable to turn back.

Diggsy deliberates for a little while on the validity and potential benefits of jumping into another realm. Eventually, he takes the plunge, landing in a brand-new world. This is where the film begins to stumble a bit. Another Version of You introduces a plethora of alternate universes for Diggsy to explore, teasing audiences with fantastic potential for other more compelling storylines. The moment the audiences gets invested in one world Diggsy is on to the next. There’s the universe in which Suzette is a mother, the one where Diggsy is married to a woman named Penelope (Rene Lovit) and the list goes on. What he comes to realize in his search for another version of Suzette is that in each of the new realities there is one key problem: he’s still himself.

Diggsy’s realization that no matter where you go that’s where you are causes him to slow his realm walking down and settle into a new reality. He encounters Gwenyth (C.J. Perry) who helps him finally divert his attention away from the ever-unattainable Suzette and that’s when things begin to get interesting. Their relationship is fun and refreshing to watch after some dragging moments of Diggsy’s self-pitying, semi-obsessive behavior.  It takes Diggsy a long time to learn and grow from his many experiences, something that could have been addressed during the film’s pacing and editing. Despite his being the central character, Diggsy is the least interesting in the film. Instead, the women in Diggsy’s orbit are the real scene stealers. Daphne, Suzette, Gwenyth, Penelope and even Abbi (Annie Kearney) are all more likable and dynamic characters – despite the many varying roles they play in each of the realities.

This isn’t to say that Diggsy isn’t worthy of love, he’s just incredibly frustrating to watch – a perfect reflection of this film’s plot. Diggsy is loveable, frustrating, handsome, endlessly endearing and sometimes downright illogical. Writer-director Motke Dapp does a phenomenal job humanizing characters who could easily be dismissed for their flaws and stretching out an independent budget to bring about the many realities Diggsy travels through in pursuit of his beloved Suzette.

Another Version of You doesn’t always make sense in its logic or storytelling, but that doesn’t make it any less worthy of a viewing. Comedic, charming and at times heartbreaking, this picture is a quick watch for anyone with an open mind willing to watch a young man learn about love as he goes through the tribulations of infatuation. It’s a coming of age tale for those who come to age just a little too late, who learn lessons on love just a little too far along and a cautionary tale for anyone with more power than they deserve. Another Version of You is a fresh take on the sad-boy gets the girl story and wraps up nicely despite a few narrative hiccups.