The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
When I'm Ready
Romance · Drama · Science Fiction · 2025
It's the end of the world. Seeking meaning and thrills in their last days alive, Rose and Michael embark on a cross-country road trip to see Rose's grandmother as a devastating asteroid threatens to wipe out life on Earth. Along the way they encounter other lost souls, each with their own very different perspective on the impending doom.
Movie details
When I'm Ready
2025 Romance · Drama · Science Fiction 1h 48m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.4 / 10
Community rating
It's the end of the world. Seeking meaning and thrills in their last days alive, Rose and Michael embark on a cross-country road trip to see Rose's grandmother as a devastating asteroid threatens to wipe out life on Earth. Along the way they encounter other lost souls, each with their own very different perspective on the impending doom.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over When I'm Ready?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Starman
Sci-fi · 1984
When an alien takes the form of a young widow's husband and asks her to drive him from Wisconsin to Arizona, the government tries to stop them.
Equals
Drama · 2015
A futuristic love story set in a world where emotions have been eradicated.
The Age of Adaline
Romance · 2015
After 29-year-old Adaline recovers from a nearly lethal accident, she inexplicably stops growing older. As the years stretch on and on, Adaline keeps her secret to herself until she meets a man who changes her life.
Bicentennial Man
Drama · 1999
Richard Martin buys a gift, a new NDR-114 robot. The product is named Andrew by the youngest of the family's children. "Bicentennial Man" follows the life and times of Andrew, a robot purchased as a household appliance programmed to perform menial tasks. As Andrew begins to experience emotions and creative thought, the Martin family soon discovers they don't have an ordinary robot.
Upside Down
Romance · 2012
In an alternate universe where twinned worlds have opposite gravities, a young man battles interplanetary prejudice and the laws of physics in his quest to reunite with the long-lost girl of his dreams in this visually stunning romantic adventure that poses the question: what if love was stronger than gravity?
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey
Romance · 2025
Sarah and David are single strangers who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and soon, through a surprising twist of fate, find themselves on a funny, fantastical, sweeping adventure together where they get to re-live important moments from their respective pasts, illuminating how they got to where they are in the present... and possibly getting a chance to alter their futures.
The In Between
Romance · 2022
After surviving a car accident that took the life of her boyfriend, a teenage girl believes he's attempting to reconnect with her from the after world.
Press Play
Music · 2022
Laura and Harrison have the picture-perfect romance built on the foundation of a shared love of music. After a deadly accident, Laura gets the chance to save the love of her life when she discovers that their mixtape can transport her back in time.
The Yellow Handkerchief
Drama · 2009
A road trip through Louisiana transforms three strangers who were originally brought together by their respective feelings of loneliness.
Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between
Romance · 2022
Clare and Aidan make a pact to break up before college — no regrets, no broken hearts. But will one epic goodbye date offer them a last chance at love?
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Andrew Johnson
Written by
Andrew Ortenberg
Andrew Ortenberg
Michael
June Schreiner
Rose
Thalia Besson
Michelle
Dermot Mulroney
Keith
Lauren Cohan
Julia
Luciana VanDette
Apryl
T
Theo Marshall
Donny
Court is in session
Put When I'm Ready on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.