FAQ About Time Travel

Sigh. I really wanted to enjoy this film. I mean, I figured that I’m exactly the kind of audience that they’re going for, right? I like Sci-Fi (though I’m not nearly pretentious enough to call it "SF"), I’m a certainly a bit of a nerd (though I’m not nearly pathetic enough to call myself an "imagineer"), I like Chris O’Dowd and I’m a movie-goer. What more could a film called FAQ About Time Travel want from an audience?

Well, something, apparently, because FAQ left me feeling very cold and annoyed – cold to the attempts at humour and annoyed that I had wasted my time on this film when there were about 10 others I wanted to see.

Ok, details. Ray, Toby and Pete (Chris O’Dowd, Marc Wootton and Dean Lennox Kelly) all work pathetic jobs at a pathetic amusement park. When Ray is fired, they take a trip to the pub to drown their sorrows. This is where Ray bumps into time-traveller Cassie (Anna Faris), who inadvertently affects the future by talking to Ray. This results in the guys being tossed about through time trying to get back to their time. Ok, I’m bored recounting the plot now, so I’m going to stop. Believe me, you’re not missing anything.

The thing that annoyed me most was the fact that this was supposed to be a comedy with a hint of sci-fi, but it wasn’t funny and the sci-fi was tedious. Then there’s the characters. Ray is weak and pathetic and not really that easy to root for. Toby is fat, cowardly and irritating, and left me wanting to punch him in the face repeatedly. Pete is… just… crap. Not even Anna Faris, who is often the only watchable thing in the films in which she stars can’t save this one. (Seriously, Anna, get a better agent.)

The poster says "So funny you’ll want to go back in time and see it again." Wrong. I want to go back in time to warn myself not to watch it. One of the characters asks while in the pub "How hard can it be to make a good film?" Harder than you lot think anyway, guys. D+.