La théorie du chaos

Chaos Theory is a well-acted comedy that delivers laughs a the right moments while weaving an endearing tale. It never achieves greatness, but it is enjoyable throughout.

Frank Allen (Ryan Reynolds) is a professional speaker who lectures on time management, and his life is perfectly ordered and scheduled, down to the minute. When his wife (Emily Mortimer) sets his clock forward 10 minutes as a joke, his day is thrown off. When he ends up late for an out-of-town lecture, things go awry. A couple of miscommunications leads his wife to question his fidelity, and he ends up making a discovery that causes him to have his own doubts about his family life. Deciding that his strictly ordered life has done him little good, he begins to make multiple choice index cards, choosing one at random and doing what is written on the card.

Reynolds is a very under-appreciated talent, and his work in this film is spot-on. Stuart Townsend gives a strong performance as Frank's best friend, and Matreya Fedor has some great moments as Frank's 7-year old daughter. Sarah Chalke shows up briefly in an interesting role, but she isn't given that much to work with.

The movie is story is well-structured and not entirely predictable, and the pacing and timing are great. The flaw of the film, though, is the third act, which was a little over-the-top for my taste.

But it is a smart and pleasant film overall, perfect for a rental.

The surprising thing about Chaos Theory was the way it was rather staid "date flick" fare, but would occasionally punch through the safety barrier and say something wickedly true and profoundly, deeply passionate and beautiful.

It's a great story about truth and connection, and how sometimes connection needs to be reinstated and preserved even in the face of the failure to fully disclose the truth.

To get a little technical, there were times when I was especially appreciative of the writing. Really great, grabs-you-and-won't-let-go screen writing is rare these days; how weird to find it in a flick like this; but there you have it! Kudos! The writing in the scene leading up to Buddy sitting on the go-'round ride in the playground with Susan had me in tears; right up there with the classics.

You may have noticed a hint of a qualification in the foregoing, and that's because there were those other de rigueur features of the standard date flick I didn't appreciate so much. Didn't care for a lot of the song selections; kind of country-trite. If it weren't for the supremely humanizing bits of writing mentioned above, I feel some of the characters would have come across a bit hollow, and they otherwise sometimes teeter on the edge of falling into that pit.

But... OK: The writing, directing, acting, editing, most of the narrative pacing work just fine and shed real light on love and life.

See this flick! Heck: Take a date!

I can't believe this one flew under my radar for almost two years. Chaos Theory is one of those rare gems in between, you never hear it being talked about but has also built quite a fanbase. Chaos Theory is a quirky, surprising little gem with a great script and an impressive vision. Directed by Marcos Siega (Pretty Persuasion), the movie works on both ends. It has enough comedy to give a chuckle or two and exact amount of drama for the love sick. Ryan Reynolds, whether you love him or hate him, is always the impressive actor and this is by far one of his best on screen performance. Emily Mortimer is always terrific and the elusive Stuart Townsend graces us with his charisma and almost-never-seen talent. This is a rarity of a gem with a great cast and a perfect blend of heartwarming drama and spot-on comedic timing.

However, its never gonna get the wide audience that it deserves mainly because the stars aren't exactly top draws in the box office which is just sad really because the wider audience would rather just watch a dude dressed as a lady in a fatsuit (I'm looking at you Tyler Perry) than real good quality film-making.

Ryan Reynolds did a good job, but unfortunately I couldn't sympathize with his character (Frank). The core of the story isn't' original and it could have been executed better. It felt like some events were completely unscripted and developed (badly) during the filming... and I don't mean spontaneous and nice improvisation. We barely know Frank's wife and (especially) daughter which makes really impossible (in my opinion) to completely understand his emotional trip and feelings. Note that the relation with them is what the whole movie story is about ;) So... if you really come across it, than give it a shot. Otherwise I would rather suggest to watch Definitely, Maybe (2008) - same lead actor, same release year, similar content/story, but definitely a more emotionally engaging movie.

Jesse Allen (Elisabeth Harnois) is getting married but her groom Ed (Mike Erwin) has cold feet. He finds out that she was with somebody else when they broke up. Her father Frank (Ryan Reynolds) finds him sneaking out the back door and sits him down for a talk. He tells him about his life with his wife Susan (Emily Mortimer), womanizing best friend Buddy Endrow (Stuart Townsend) and Paula Crowe (Sarah Chalke).

There is a slight comedic tone in the movie that is ill-fitting. The story struggles to get going. The characters are not that appealing. The misunderstanding is ridiculously stupid. It feels like a silly sitcom. When Frank goes crazy, the movie gets better. If only the movie can figure out how to get there without the silly setup.