Worth the Wait does not do itself any favors by embracing a subgenre of the romantic comedy that rarely results in anyone’s best work: the interconnected ensemble dramedy. Love, Actually is probably the most popular example, but collections of loosely interlinked storylines can be found in the likes of Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve, He’s Just Not That Into You, and, over in the drama genre, Crash. I genuinely thought this format of storytelling was ᴅᴇᴀᴅ as a doornail, but lo and behold, Tubi’s newest outing pulls out the defibrillator to shock life back into the poor thing.

In this case, the story is centered around four Asian-American couples based in Seattle, namely Teresa (Karena Kar-Yan Lam) and Nathan (Osric Chau), who are rebuilding their life after a miscarriage, Kai (Ross Butler) and Leah (Lana Condor of the To All the Boys movies), who are struggling to maintain a long-distance relationship, Amanda (Elodie Yung) and Scott (Andrew Koji), a star and director who are exes working together on a new big movie, and Blake (Ricky He) and Riley (Ali Fumiko Whitney), a teenage couple who are being kept apart by Riley’s overprotective guardian, Uncle Curtis (Sung Kang).

Not Every Story In Worth The Wait Is Equally Entertaining

It Falls Into A Common Ensemble Movie Trap

Although the state of the modern romantic comedy movie is such that any remotely pleasant entry in the genre is worth noting, Worth the Wait never manages to rise above “pleasant.” This is because any sense of the story building toward something worthwhile is continuously scuppered by the movie’s insistent need to keep switching to other characters at exactly the wrong time. Despite this, it still has a hard time keeping all four plates spinning, and certain couples will vanish for what feels like half an hour at a time.

In a bad habit common to these ensemble movies, not every story is equally satisfying to watch. While Teresa and Nathan’s story has some particularly well-observed moments of life in the face of tragedy, it can’t help but feel maudlin compared to everything around it. Meanwhile, Amanda and Scott are hardly a blip on the movie’s radar. Though Blake and Riley’s story is cute and delivers some serious pathos via Curtis, the only storyline that is end-to-end worthwhile is Leah and Kai’s, because Ross Butler and Lana Condor have crackling chemistry, even when they’re stuck video chatting with one another.

While all the leads are generally capable and deliver convincing performances, the only other character who comes anywhere close to Leah and Kai’s level is Curtis, as Sung Kang is clearly relishing the opportunity to show off his range outside the Fast & Furious franchise by delivering a layered role that blends gruffness and tenderness in equal measure.

Worth The Wait Does Not Live Up To Its тιтle

Even The Best Storylines Are Generic

The imbalance between the characters blends poorly with the imbalance in how well the movie can keep track of them in the first place, resulting in the whole affair feeling like something of a mess. This is not something that it can really afford because every storyline that unspools throughout the narrative is hopelessly generic. This is an extra-large demerit because the opening narration bloviates about the beginnings, endings, and middles of stories in a way that falsely promises that the movie has something interesting or creative in mind for its narrative threads.

However, while Worth the Wait fails to elevate itself, it is consistently sweet and charming. For instance, Blake and Curtis’ relationship is a standout, as is Condor’s tart-tongued series of line deliveries. It’s a completely harmless watch, and even if it rarely rises to the level of “great,” nothing ever sinks low enough to be deemed “bad.” It’s just that, by the time the story reached its fourth conclusion in a row, I was left asking, “Is that all there is?” It didn’t feel like it had enough substance for a single story, let alone four.

Worth the Wait premieres on Tubi on May 23.