Yule Love It: Christmas Time (2017)

AKA My Brother The Time Traveler.

Directed by Jake Van Wagoner. Written by Jake Van Wagoner and Maclain Nelson. Starring Jake Van Wagoner and Maclain Nelson, who play two brothers named . . . Jake and Maclain. The signs were all there, warning me to stay clear of this one, but I just didn't notice them from the very beginning.

A cute intro sequence covers the backstory that you need to know, for the most part. Jake and Maclain were very young when their parents died, and then Jake started to time travel, or so he told people when asked about his whereabouts (whenabouts?), which left Maclain alone and upset when he needed his brother most. Having not been in touch with one another for some time, Maclain's partner, Clare (played by Clare Niederpruem) decides that the brothers should be pushed into spending Christmas together at a fairly isolated cabin. Can they make up for those lost years, and will Jake insist that he can still travel through time?

The first thing that you notice about Christmas Time, once that fun intro sequence finishes, is that it's cheap. It feels cheap. Not necessarily the cheapest you will ever see, and the audio is of a decent quality (often the downfall of many a low-budget film), but you can definitely tell from the very beginning that this is a film made without a lot of money put into it. Necessity can be the mother of invention, especially when people are making movies, but this is one occasion when I think a bigger budget could have really helped, perhaps interspersing the main storyline with some flashbacks/hallucinations.

The second thing you notice about Christmas Time is that the leads are okay, but nothing more. I spent the whole film wishing that Jake was being played by Tyler Labine, for example, and Maclain could have been played by anyone able to do the uptight, exasperated, everyday Joe. Clare is surprisingly patient and sweet, and again could have been played by a number of other actresses. Nobody is awful, fortunately, but this premise could have been turned into something much more enjoyable with one or two more familiar faces onscreen. I have seen opinions from some people who liked seeing James Murray onscreen, he plays a therapist trying to help Maclain, but I am unaware of his past work and wasn't impressed by him in this.

The direction is also okay, suffering most from the script that everyone is working from. It's an unfocused work, never making the most of the comedy potential, the family drama, or the maybe/maybe not sci-fi element, and this leads viewers to an ending that is frustrating and a bit rushed when it could have been the satisfying end of an enjoyable journey.

So . . . you have a drama that often doesn't make you care about the characters, a comedy with too few laughs, and a possible sci-fi idea that isn't well-utilised, making the whole thing a disappointment, if not absolutely terrible.

4/10

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When We First Met (2018)

Noah (Adam Devine) falls in love with Avery (Alexandra Daddario), but  has to resign himself to the fact that although they had a great first date together, it ended with a hug and nothing else happened between them. She then met, and fell in love with, the perfect Ethan (Robbie Amell). It's been three years since that fateful time, and Avery and Ethan are getting engaged, which leads Noah to get horribly drunk and then encounter a magical photobooth that he once used with Avery, which takes him back to his first time meeting her. Can he change the outcome, and will he like what happens?

Having seen many people mention that this is a romcom riff on Groundhog Day, I can tell you that it's not. Not really. It's a romcom riff on The Butterfly Effect. There's a difference between the two. And that difference is big when it comes to how the film plays out, because When We First Met could have been a lot better than it is, and a lot funnier, if it was hewing closer to the former than the latter.

The cast don't help. As much as I like Devine, I don't think of him as the best choice for a rom-com lead, although he doesn't do too bad here. Daddario is also fine, but she's the sort of actress I can always imagine being bumped for any number of better actresses. Amell does well with his fairly limited role, and Shelley Hennig is decent enough as Carrie, Avery's roommate. It's just a shame that her character is twisted to put together a third act that doesn't feel in line with the rest of the film. Andrew Bachelor fairs a bit better, playing Noah's best friend, Max.

The script by John Whittington doesn't have much going for it beyond the potential fun of the central premise, which is squandered at almost every opportunity. This could have crammed in so many fun failures as Noah tried to change his life. We instead just get a few specific scenarios as Noah is rushed to his big life lesson. Director Ari Sandel doesn't do anything to improve upon the script, relying on the talents of his leads, which again makes it easier to reach the conclusion that there were probably better options than Devine and Daddario to put in the lead roles.

Despite the problems, When We First Met isn't actually a bad film. It's just an average film. There aren't enough laughs, you don't REALLY care that much about the characters, the time travel is fun but not used as well as it should be, and it's passable entertainment when it could have been something much more enjoyable.

5/10

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About Time (2013)

The oh-so-lovely British bandwagon that has been built and driven by Richard Curtis, for some years now, rolls merrily on with this, his latest slice of harmless comedy fluff.

When Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) is 21, he is told by his father (Bill Nighy) about a special trait that all of the male family members have. They can all travel back in time. This is, of course, huge news. After a few experimental trips, attempting to improve his love life, Tim quickly realises that it's not as easy as you might think to make changes that will alter your future for the better. Thankfully, that doesn't stop him from using his unique gift when he falls for the lovely Mary (Rachel McAdams), and that makes up the main premise of the movie.

For anyone expecting something akin to Groundhog Day, or even The Butterfly Effect, be forewarned now. This is not a movie that uses the time travel aspect all that well. It does have elements of both of those movies just mentioned, but many scenes play out with very little interest in the more fantastical aspect of the plot. In fact, there's at least one sequence that's completely redundant, just there to illustrate a point that could have been mentioned to Tim at any other time in the movie.

The blame for the shortcomings of the movie rests entirely with Curtis. As writer-director, it would appear that he is now at his happiest when churning out another inoffensive "Richard Curtis rom-com". I like many of his movies, don't get me wrong, but I think it's a shame to try and sell About Time as something a bit different from his previous works when it is, in fact, almost completely the same. It makes the whole thing feel very lazy. The generic pop soundtrack, the big emotional moment accompanied by a classic track, the narration from the main character. This is Curtis 101, by the numbers stuff. The fact that the characters played by Lindsay Duncan and Bill Nighy are simply credited as Mum and Dad really tells you all you need to know. Curtis can do this stuff in his sleep and, considering the lack of care taken with this script, maybe this time he did.

The cast all do quite well, I guess, with what they're given. Gleeson isn't exactly standard leading man material, but that makes his need to tweak things all the more believable. McAdams is always lovely to see onscreen AND I WON'T HEAR A BAD WORD AGAINST HER (*breathe, breathe*). Sorry about that, but she IS pretty hard to ever dislike. Nighy is a cool dad, while Duncan barely registers in the role of Mum (she's just not given anything to do), and Lydia Wilson is the requisite slightly tragic character, Kit Kat (AKA Tim's sister). Tom Hollander steals a few scenes as Harry, a very angry man that Tim ends up living with at one point, Richard Cordery is a dotty uncle, and Margot Robbie is captivating in a small role, as the first major love in Tim's life.

If you're in the mood for a romantic comedy then I'd suggest you go for many better examples ahead of this one. Hell, go for almost any other Richard Curtis movie and you'll get more entertainment value. If you're in the mood for a good time travel movie then, again, there are far too many superior movies that you could choose from. Want a mix of the two? Yep, I'm willing to be that there are still others that you can prioritise ahead of this. It's not terrible. It's just not really worth your time, ironically enough.

5/10

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