Ah, young love. It is in the air no matter the season, coloring the atmosphere with hopeful resilience and the promise that this world, even for a short time, may get just a little less lonely. In Winter Spring Summer or Fall, the feature debut of writer/director Tiffany Paulson, the simplicity of young love helps deliver another breezy rom-com seasoned with coming-of-age sweetness. Paulson is no stranger to the art of the romantic comedy, either: both Holidate and About Fate were scripted by the actress-turned-creator. Rising star Jenna Ortega and her adorable Wednesday co-star, Percy Hynes White, make for quite the picture-perfect pairing in full-on charmer Winter Spring Summer or Fall.
Smoking weed on the rooftop with his close friend—and occasional drug dealer—PJ (Elias Kacavas), Barnes (Hynes White) immediately takes notice of the girl across the street. Remi (Ortega), a super smart fellow senior appears destined for an ivy league school. PJ notes that she is “kind of” famous, but hangs out with her parents and doesn’t really have free time to party. Only the first of the film’s many tropes arrives merely several minutes deep. A chance encounter on the train ride into New York City nicely establishes a flirtatious meet-cute. Barnes spots Remi, promises he is not a stalker, and shoots his shot. The sparks fly between the two pretty quickly after their initial meetup, even if it already seems they are each headed down divergent life paths. With Remi hyper-focused on school, Barnes has no plans for a collegiate lifestyle. She is headed into the city to visit Columbia University, while Barnes has come for a concert.
Remi does not let up in her suggestions for Barnes, be it potential jobs or internships that she thinks could be a good fit. He is more interested in getting her to listen to his favorite 80s band, The Talking Heads. Attempting to instill vital life advice to stubborn youngsters yet to graduate high school is often an exercise in futility. Their emotional maturity has not fully developed, nor have their brains. That anyone knows what they want to do with the rest of their life so early on is a minor miracle in itself. After a minor mishap involving the dangers of the biking lane, any hopes of a proper date seem to fizzle out. Naturally, Barnes and Remi will meet again as the seasons soldier in.
What follows after this initial winter meet-cute makes a strong case for fate playing a role in their relationship, a similar unspoken argument to the central conceit of Paulson’s earlier About Fate. As winter transforms to spring, Barnes and Remi may take different dates to the prom, but after they abandon the event for a sushi date nearby, the hands of fate have driven them together once more. The slice-of-life nature of this script, giving us just a taste of the two central characters during each season, makes it rather unique in the grand scheme of rom-com predictability. Still, there are no escaping the tropes. We know there will be fights, reconciliations, kisses, light and fluffy content. The dodging of major events, such as graduation, no doubt helped to keep the production costs low. Seeing these events anyway simply does not feel necessary in the greater picture.
A grand romantic gesture, a staple of major titles in this genre, helps to close out the proceedings on a memorable note that feels true to the personalities of both characters. We root for Barnes and Remi to end up together, strengthened by the bond formed between Percy Hynes White and Jenna Ortega, respectively. While the movie itself will probably not stand the test of time as a modern classic, the lasting legacy of its star players may keep rom-com fanatics revisiting Winter Spring Summer or Fall over and over again.
Winter Spring Summer or Fall screened at 2024’s Tribeca Film Festival.
