Timer: Contagem Regressiva Para o Amor

In a near future, many people wear a timer implanted in their wrists by matchmakers to find their soul mates and true love. The twenty-nine year-old orthodontist Oona O'Leary (Emma Caulfield) is worried about her future since she cannot find her true love. When she meets the twenty- two year old supermarket cashier and musician Mikey Evers (John Patrick Amedori), his timer shows that they will be together in four months and she falls for him.

Oona lives with her stepsister and best friend Steph Depaul (Michelle Borth) that works as receptionist in a nursing home. When Steph meets the widow Dan (Desmond Harrington) that does not wear a timer, they start seeing each other. Meanwhile Oona finds that Mikey's timer is fake and she is affected by her discovery. The birthday of Oona and Steph is on the same day and their mother Marion Depaul (JoBeth Williams) invites Mikey and Dan to the party. On the eve, Oona and Steph decide to remove the timer, but when Oona is ready to take it of, the timer is activated by someone who has just implanted it. Who could be her soul mate?

"TiMER" is a charming romantic comedy with a different but silly concept, but also flawed with an awful conclusion. The idea would be acceptable in a future or a near future, but even Oona's father had implanted a timer when she was born meaning thirty years ago. The perfect message would be with Oona daring to love Mikey free of her mother's oppression for using the timer and Steph and Dan together. Further, there are several questions raised along the story without answer. For example, has Oone reconciled with her father? Did he like Mikey's CD? What has happened to Steph and how would be her relationship with Oona if she stays with Dan? My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Timer – Contagem Regressiva para o Amor" ("Timer- Countdown to Love)

While the above review would say that this movie was somewhat inspiring, I would tend to disagree. Timer is a movie which promises to challenge the stereotype of one person for everyone, but in the end re-enforces it. There really isn't one person for everyone, and I was hoping that the movie would relate this to the audience, but the ending was flat and awful.

The main character falls for a complete stranger after having a wonderful time with a perfectly wonderful younger man. (nope, not buying it). What this says and tries to re-enforce to us as an audience is that we should all date our own age, and anything other isn't the right person for us.

Examples Her father has a timer but it isn't synced with the woman he's living with (much younger than him) Her mother and step-father both have timers and they are the same age.

She is 30 and her love interest is 22, the timer doesn't think they should be together.

She and her sister's love interest both have timers that sync and they are roughly the same age.

Their younger brother is 14 and his timer goes off seeing another 14 year old girl.

I was, for the most part, completely into this movie before the ending. It was well acted and had some great ideas. But, it turns out there is no enlightenment at all, just the same old society influenced bullshit, one person for you, the same age as you, and there's no one else for you.

Bottom line, this movie is just a huge let down. Maybe it was my fault for wanting it to be deeper and have a more meaningful ending. But no, it's just the same old crap you've seen before.

Don't waste your time with this one, it's a huge let down.

I picked this film on Netflix not knowing what it was about. Then I got introduced from the opening scenes to a very interesting concept and was drawn in by an original idea. I don't know if this was done in any other film, but it is the first time that I have seen it in a movie. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The original concept was refreshing and the main character was a lovable girl who was looking for love like many of us. (By the way, for those who didn't remember, she was on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, played Xander's fiancée). Her situation (minus the obvious thing that we don't have access to, at least right now) is quite believable as I know many people in her predicament, searching for someone to love and to spend the rest of their lives with. It is a romantic, dramatic and funny movie that sits well with me and is quite enjoyable to watch.

Fun and cool idea, promising characters, but with a very questionable ending that gets lost in the direction the film was developing with the characters. As well as missed the chance to convey a nicer/constructive image about the TiMER idea.

The Timer is a small device which told the person who had it attached exactly when he or she will meet their soul mates. Oona, a woman whose mother was desperately relying on the thing, has her timer completely blank since she got it so she spends a lot of time trying to figure out the problem. Meanwhile, fortunately for her, she meets a charming boy, younger than her, which will play an important role in the nearby future.

It's an enjoyable comedy which bases on a pretty interesting concept (the Timer) and presents a bunch of people whose lives are deeply affected by this expensive gizmo. As much as I liked the movie (most of it) I have to say that the finale is simply catastrophic. They ruined it as badly as they could, from a tangled but pretty love story to an unnecessary Timer intervention which makes everything fall apart. Pity, as it could have been a much better movie if it wasn't for that stupid ending