The Present

Not every plot twist will make sense in this family version of Groundhog Day. So the basic premise is not original. I've learned long ago that originality is not all that important. What matters is the fact that we've got very good roles written down for a cast who knows how to deliver when they have a very good role written for them. And it works - we quickly learn to care for this dysfunctional family, and since we care we stay through to the end. Pacing is just quick enough so we don't notice the bits that make less sense, and if we do notice, as I already said - it doesn't really matter.

It's not a masterpiece, it doesn't pretend it is. It's what my title said - a well-done fun movie. If that's what you're looking for, you'll get it here.

It's really sad how critics wrote this Christian Ditter film off. It's actually a pretty great family comedy, aimed at younger children, propulsive and colorful with a great message placed safely within a very mischievous faux-SF plot.

This science fiction aspect of the film is actually the easiest one to get out of the way. It's a gateway movie when it comes to science fiction and it's a nice introduction to chronomotion and stuff like Groundhog Day and maybe even Back to the Future. Of course, the real deal works are better and obviously the best version of this plot device but as an interpretation for kids, Jay Martel and Christian Ditter deliver a proper version.

So, any unfavorable comparison to science fiction classics of cinema aimed at older audiences are literally moronic. This film is actually doing a favor to the genre.

However the fundamental element of this film is not chronomotion. It's family values and the ability of family members to actually heal it and fix its issues. It's inspired by Parent Trap alright but it's an archetypal thing and Isla Fisher & Greg Kinnear play the main characters as a couple worth keeping together.

Kids are also pretty great in leading roles and Christian Ditter brings great proficiency to staging which is pacy and imaginative.

Mayve, the film fell victim to its perceived lack of Wokeness, even though there are elements of inclusion. But if you are on the lookout (no pun intended to Fisher's film Lookout) for quality family fare, check this out,

Dysfunctional family is about to break up and an old antique clock arrives that changes everything. The youngest boy who refuses to be touched or speak (easiest part for any actor) fixes the clock and discovers it can reset the day about 12 hours earlier. He goes about trying different time paradoxes to attempt to keep his parents from splitting up. A lot of goofiness and just plain weird encounters with other people who have their own agendas. Kind of a strange, can be very confusing as the time resets so many times during the movie till they finally get it right. Nothing questionable, no nudity a few foul language words but not much. An "ok" watch but didn't keep me interested as much as other films of this genre. Ok for all family members. Enjoy!

The main issue with this movie is how the movie cant seem to decide which demographic its for. Is this a kids movie? Definitely not. Theres sex jokes, condom jokes, implied sex, and tons of other stuff that would lead to you having some really awkward conversations with your kids afterwards ("mommy, what did that guy mean when he said that the girl was a 'virgin'?") is this a movie for adults? Ummm... nope. The tone and premise is just way too childish and silly for that either.. so who is this movie for?

Its also got plenty of other problems under the surface as well. The actor playing the therapist was just annoying, the middle child max is just an extra in the first 2 thirds of the movie before suddenly deciding he wants to be an actual character in the final act. Also some of the sources of conflict were just dumb, like oh no, the dad is renting out a bathelor pad for when he moves out? Thats terrible for... some reason. I will say though that i did like it how whenever the movie relived a day it didnt re-show everything beat for beat, it only showed the stuff that changed from the previous day, that definitely saved a lot of filler.

Its just... meh. It just feels like a movie that came out a couple decades too late, it literally feels like a movie from the 80s or 90s. Its not terrible, but its just not completely compatible with any specific demographic.

A brilliant but mute boy (Easton Rocket Sweda) discovers that he can manipulate time using a family heirloom. He soon teams up with his siblings in returning to the time of their parents' separation, with hopes of changing the outcome.

The idea isn't new, but it's still an enticing idea: being able to control time to affect an outcome. The story has a sweet and wholesome intent, to get the warring parents back together so the family remains whole. Greg Kinnear is as good as you would expect as the father, the rest of the performances aren't bad, but they're pretty meh.

The film itself is slightly annoying in that going back in time is one thing, doing it repeatedly so many times is quite tedious and boring. We got the idea early on so the manic repetitive i think was filling in for a story that could so easily have been a short film. Also silly camera tricks that have proven to universally not be liked at all, such as spinning around a group of people in circles, made me almost motion sick and I had to fast forward through some parts. There were some quite childish scenes too so I wonder if the makers meant this film to be aimed at younger children whose parents were thinking of divorce?

It wasn't awful, but it wasn't great, I gave it a 5.