Le petit guide du voyage dans le temps

Okay, so the acting isn't the best. Neither are the special effects. Despite this, I've been thoroughly entertained and captivated for the entirety of the last 80 minutes by an excellent plot that keeps you on your toes, genuinely excellent humour and enough confusion to keep you thinking but not to frustrate.

Unexpected twists are everywhere, but the great thing about them is that they all make sense when the movie is over, which is something some of the more recent Hollywood Sci-Fi's could take note of. It's actually a shame that one of the independent distributors with a bit more cash to burn didn't get hold of the script, I honestly think this could have been a box-office success with the right marketing.

This won't be winning any Oscars in the near future, but let's be honest; who gives a damn?

I reckon at one point Nick Frost and Simon Pegg were considered for the lead roles with Edgar Wright mooted as a director.

However the film starts as three guys in a pub talking about time travel when one of them is fired from his job. Ray (Chris O'Dowd), Toby (Marc Wootton) and Pete (Dean Lennox Kelly) are out in the pub going through beers, crisps and moaning about life as well as talking science fiction but strangely no mention of Doctor Who.

A trip to the toilet for one of them leads to some sort of time leak where the trio go back and forth along a time-line that could lead to danger. Anna Faris plays Cassie a woman from the future whose job is to repair these time leaks.

The film is rather fun, the three leads play well together, they are not irritating and there is a mixture of comedy with some danger and drama. Faris mixes well with the trio and there is some substance with the science fiction elements of the story.

Ray (Chris O'Dowd), Toby (Marc Wootton) and Pete (Dean Lennox Kelly) are out in the pub for the night, going through their usual rounds of beer, crisps and complaints about general things including movies, music and their dead-end lives in general. Well, they think they're facing a brick wall, but really things are about to get a little sci-fi—or, science fiction, if you're picky about that sort of thing. You see, when one of the guys goes into the toilet, he discovers that there's a "time-leak" somewhere within that causes them to leap back and forth along a timeline that risks all of them destroying the entire universe as they know it. Sound really nerdy? Well, it is. Except, it's not pedantic nerdy, but actually smart, witty and engagingly imaginer (don't ask). The resulting movie is one that excels in both situation and character comedy, whilst also telling a really good story to boot—while there are flaws in the entire design (most of which occur in the later stages as things get more and more complicated) Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel is a short, but sweet take on the science-fiction comedy that knows how to strike up a laugh or two, but not at the expense of story or character.

Even though just about one of the three central actors has had major exposure on British TV and more recently, cinema, the performances are pitch-perfect. Striking a firm balance between realism and expertly timed gags, Dowd, Wootton and Kelly provide the movie with enough charm and "boy humour" to prevent the movie from sinking in a pile of convoluted, unfunny esoteric nonsense. Rather, the light-hearted presence of the three allows the feature to breathe with a sense of personality; while the film deals largely with two eccentric nerds and one slightly less nerdy partner in crime; these guys aren't your typical silver screen cutout stereotypes usually afforded to such personas. Instead, director Gareth Carrivick strives to maintain a sense of realism about his movie which permeates throughout.

Rather surprisingly this manifests itself not just in the characters, but in the hammy, sci-fi plot itself which involves the three jumping around time and avoiding bumping into themselves—thus avoiding deadly paradoxes. The extent to which writer Jamie Mathieson goes to avoid even the sternest of science-fiction nerds from having a fit over Grandfather Paradoxes and erroneous Chaos Theory debauchery is extremely welcome and really helps pad out the story even more than it is. Indeed, it could be argued that even though there are numerous timelines opened throughout the course of the movie, no real conflicts or holes are created at least until the final ten minutes. From here, things to get a little bit shifty for the sake of providing an ending that will please the average audience member, but even a little wink and a nod throughout this conclusion helps keep the movie's narrative in place. What results is a story that's not only refreshing through its willingness to go weird on you, but also through the sheer fact that weird never overcomes the viewer's suspension of belief.

In the end, FAQ About Time Travel does just about enough to strike a firm balance between story (which some will argue is king), character and silliness to ensure that your average viewer will be catered to. And while it isn't very likely that you will be blown away by the feature nor will it be emblazoned on your memory, the experience that is offers no matter how temporal, does well to entertain there and now. With some spot on performances and a tight script, Frequently Asked Questions is a smart and very funny take on the science-fiction genre that mixes situation with character humour effectively.

• A review by Jamie Robert Ward (http://www.invocus.net)

I was not sure about this film at first. Don't get me wrong, I like comedy(when it's done right of course) especially ones from the '70s, '80s and '90s, but when it is done wrong it's awful. But I was fearing whether it would be anything like the Friedberg-Seltzer spoof movies which I hated, detested even. After seeing mixed reviews and the above average IMDb rating, I decided to give it a chance.

And I am glad I did, because I thought it was a good movie, not outstanding, but it was funny and smart even with its problems and limitations. Admittedly, Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel is low-budget, but it doesn't look completely slip-shod. The story is original and well structured, when the film started though I was like "oh dear" but as the film got going it got better, while the writing was funny, smart and tongue-in-cheek. The direction is competent, the music is good and the pacing I had little problem with either. The acting is spirited, especially with Chris O'Dowd and Marc Wooton who both show a lot of spontaneous boyish charm that make their characters appealing. I agree in some ways the characters border on stereotypical but the acting and writing is enough to not make it matter that much. Anna Farris starts off a little stiff but once she gets into the film and her role she gets better. Even the title was funny and amusing.

Overall, I liked it. It is not the best movie I have ever seen, but it was funny and smart and it was refreshing to see something that was actually funny.(Friedberg and Seltzer take notes) 8/10 Bethany Cox

FAQsATT was panned recently in Radio Times when it was shown for the first time on terrestrial TV and I don't understand why. Maybe it's because I emphasise a bit with the main characters, perhaps it was just because I was excited to turn on the TV and see a reasonably famous Hollywood star in a small-time British film but whatever the reason was I found myself thoroughly entertained. A lot of people have been saying that Anna Faris is uncomfortable in this but I didn't feel that at all; I expect she enjoyed doing something completely different to what she's used to. Meredith MacNeill too has be described as awkward and such but she's playing a character who's completely barmy and I think she expressed that well. Yes the special effects are not the best but they're not terrible. For a sci-fi (sorry, Speculative Fiction!) film there aren't many of them and rather there's more focus on dialogue and antics between the cast but I think that works; the effects are not overly distracting and the post-nuclear city I though actually looked really good. I've given this 7/10 because some things could have been tidied up and the script is not perfect. Also, there are mistakes and perhaps a slightly larger budget wouldn't have hurt. All in all I enjoyed this immensely for whatever reason and that's all that matters to me.