The actress toplines and directs a slightly surreal romantic comedy-drama about two former lovers stuck together in an airport during a winter storm.

It’s easy to see why Meg Ryan would choose a romantic comedy for her return to the big screen after an absence of eight years. It is, after all, the genre that made her a beloved cinematic icon. That’s certainly the marketing hook of her new film co-starring David Duchovny, which also marks her second directorial effort, after the 2016 release Ithaca. But fans of such classics as When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle may find themselves a bit perplexed by What Happens Later, which is not so much a rom-com as a comic drama infused with strong doses of magic realism that some viewers will find charming and others insufferably twee.

The two stars play Willa and Bill, lovers when they were students at the University of Wisconsin 25 years earlier (no, the math doesn’t make sense) who find themselves unexpectedly reunited at the airport when their flights are delayed. Their initially awkward exchanges hint that their coupledom didn’t end happily, and that they’ve matured into people who are very different from each other. Willa dresses in bohemian fashion, carries a rainstick, and describes herself as a “wellness practitioner in the healing arts.” Bill wears a dark suit and is a buttoned-up business type, disgruntledly heading to Austin at the behest of his much younger boss. The characters feel like they’ve been plucked from a book of archetypes.

Meanwhile, the airport grows increasingly deserted, with seemingly every other passenger managing to board a flight. The venue itself appears to be guiding their fates, the PA making cutesy announcements and often directly responding to their comments, like an omniscient version of the one in M*A*S*H, and the electronic signs delivering such messages as “Time Will Tell” and “Only Connect.” The latter message proves instructive: The couple warmly rekindle their affection for each other and eventually dance together through the empty airport.

What might have proved effective theatrically comes across as wholly artificial and schematic onscreen, despite Ryan’s considerable efforts as both director and performer. She attempts to provide visual variety to the single setting, albeit a sprawling one (the feature was filmed, by Bartosz Nalazek, at Bentonville, Arkansas’ Crystal Bridges Museum and Northwest Arkansas National Airport), with repeated exterior shots of the airport and the wintry storm. But the proceedings inevitably feel claustrophobic. While Ryan’s bountiful charm is as evident as ever, her character unfortunately comes across like an older version of the manic pixie dream girl. And the movie’s heavy-handed magical realist elements counter the slightness of the material to deadly effect.

What Happens Later proves engaging at times nonetheless, thanks to the chemistry between Ryan and Duchovny, the latter employing his well-honed deadpan comic chops with excellent results. And the film ends on a lovely grace note with its dedication, “For Nora,” referring to writer-director Nora Ephron, with whom Ryan enjoyed such a successful series of collaborations.