| Despite the jokes that worked but wasn't gut busting funny, this movie delivers on its promise of time travel and comedy.
The funniest movies always have the simplest; some might call it the dumbest premise. Here, a sci-fi club wants to go back in time to find a remote control to fix the AC. One little action like that has so many unpredictable consequences. The first ten minutes has a sloppier editing job than "All I Wanna Do" but then it corrects itself by showing that this was a result of a lot of time travel within the same place and time. A ton of side characters and places brought up for no reason are also explained in this manner; people disappear and reappear and it all makes sense due to this excuse crazily enough. This movie ties up more loose ends than a sandwich shop which wraps it's goodies in ribbons.
Halfway through, the movie starts questioning fate, predetermination and "A Brief History of Time," but it is done so effectively you will not end up dazed. There is even an in-class discussion about the possibilities about time travel, but surprisingly that does not stop the movie in its track the way Halle Berry's pool scene did in "Swordfish." The characters play wonderfully off each other because you can believe their motives for going back in time and that they are friends with each other.
|