Film Review: Slushy ‘About Time’ Still Says All You Need is Love

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Average: 5 (1 vote)

CHICAGO – Writer/Director Richard Curtis is somewhat of a love guru. Fresh on the heels of the tenth anniversary of what is now his classic Christmas movie, “Love Actually,” comes his latest ode to amore. It’s about life, passion and – oh yeah – a little time travel. It’s “About Time.”

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.0/5.0
Rating: 3.0/5.0

This effort isn’t as cohesive as “Love Actually” but it still has that gooey center. To recall, “Love Actually” had some bitterness with its Christmas cheer. “About Time” doesn’t have as sharp a counterpoint – it’s mostly gooey center and that can get a bit messy. Yes, there is time travel, but it’s the most selfish time travel available – it’s all about the traveler and not the time. Period jumping is an old science fiction conceit, and in most hands fairly interesting (“Back to the Future,” “Star Trek IV”). The type of time travel in “About Time” is not interesting, even when it’s attached to a conclusive moral fiber. However, it does communicate the subtle emotion of love with vigor and sincerity, and manages a few smiles along the way.

Tim (Domhnail Gleeson) is an awkward 21 year old British man. He laments never having been in love to that point in his life, and even is clueless when gals flirt his way. Everything changes when his father (Bill Nighy) tells him that the men in his family have the power to time travel once they reach 21, but only to the past, and can live any day over again within their lifetime. This information affects him greatly, and his existence takes a spinning turn.

He begins work as a lawyer in London. He meets a woman named Mary (Rachel McAdams), who loves model Kate Moss and gives him her number. However, Tim goes back in time and changes a circumstance, which causes their meeting to had not happened. He then has to bend the space/time continuum in complex ways to win her back. Their subsequent relationship is punctuated by Tim’s adventures on the timeline, but the lessons he learns go beyond the power to travel, upward to the power of love.

“About Time” opens everywhere on November 8th. Featuring Domhnail Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Lydia Wilson, Lindsay Duncan and Richard Cordery. Written and directed by Richard Curtis. Rated “R”

StarContinue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of ”About Time”

Rachel McAdams, Domhnail Gleeson
The Goo in the Two: Mary (Rachel McAdams) and Tim (Domhnail Gleeson) in ‘About Time’
Photo credit: Universal Pictures

StarContinue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of ”About Time”

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