Why I Saw It: An interesting premise can go a long way.
Cast: I don't remember Domhnall Gleeson from anything but his hair color and accent should've led me to assume he was a Weasley. He is every bit as charming as Hugh Grant at his best. Rachel McAdams is built for a role like this (insanely attractive, but still seems attainable). It also helps that both can believably play 20-35 years old. Bill Nighy is wonderful as the dad, cracking jokes and delivering knockout dramatic beats. Lydia Wilson plays Gleeson's free-spirited sister. I've never seen her before, but of the supporting characters, she was the biggest surprise.
Plot: A 21-year old guy finds out that he has inherited the ability to travel back in time. With this, he chooses to seek true-love. That's how the movie is being sold and it's certainly what it is for most of the first hour. A surprising amount is about Gleeson's relationship with his father and the movie as a whole is way more concerned with how to live life to the fullest than the RomCom trappings. It's a much deeper movie than at first it appears. I was relieved that the movie never tries to understand the time-traveling. The audience is supposed to accept it and go from there which is probably the only way a movie like this can work.
Elephant in the Room: So, it's not a romance or a comedy? I wouldn't go that far. It has some romance to it. I would definitely classify this as a date movie. It is also quite funny. I kind of forget the definition of dramatic irony but if I recall correctly, 95% of the laughs in the movie come from that. That means it can be classified as a Romantic Comedy. There's also some drama in there too. If I'm going to label this, I'd say it's a coming of age story.
To Sum Things Up:I really liked this movie. It's a little long. That's about my only complaint and it's a toothless one. I'm not calling this one of my favorite movies of the year, but I could easily see it working it's way up there five years from now. I know for a fact it's one of those movies I'll have to watch every time I see it on TBS in the middle of the afternoon. That's a list that includes The Shawshank Redemption and Bring It On, so I'll let you decide what that means exactly.
Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend
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