TiMER (2009)

TiMER: Directed by Jac Schaeffer. With Emma Caulfield Ford, Scott Holroyd, Kali Rocha, Katherine Von Till. If a clock could count down to the moment you meet your soul mate, would you want to know?

“Every romantic comedy could use a little injection of the originality of u0026quot;TiMER.u0026quot; By far the most interesting love stories come from independent filmmakers these days and Jac Schaefferu0026#39;s debut is another shining example. Sure, science-fiction concepts and love stories arenu0026#39;t exactly bread and butter, but u0026quot;TiMERu0026quot; opens up infinite possibilities for discussion about what true love really is while remaining lively, entertaining and sharply written.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film revolves around a concept thatu0026#39;s simple enough: what if you could find out the day you were to meet your soul mate just by having a timer installed on your wrist? If scientific implausibility bothers you, skip u0026quot;TiMER,u0026quot; because the film operates on this assumption entirely. Former u0026quot;Buffy the Vampire Slayeru0026quot; actress Emma Caulfield stars as Oona, a woman on the verge of 30 but whose timer is useless because as it turns out, her supposed soul mate doesnu0026#39;t have one. Although her story is the main thread, there are numerous subplots that explore the various possibilities of the implications of such a device. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe greater question at hand then becomes u0026quot;what if love lost all its predictability?u0026quot; How would we choose to live our lives? Oona is a successful orthodontist who desperately wants to know who u0026quot;the oneu0026quot; is. Sheu0026#39;s taken numerous guys she has met to get timers installed to see if theyu0026#39;re him, but to no avail. Her frustration and the influence of her promiscuous stepsister Steph (Michelle Borth) whose timer wonu0026#39;t go off until sheu0026#39;s over 40 lead her to a fling with a younger guy named Mikey (John Patrick Amedori) whose timer has about four months left on it.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMuch of the earlier drama is regarding the question of whether two people who have proof that they arenu0026#39;t meant for each other should become involved. This situation and many other hypotheticals that arise in the film are tough; we barely understand love as it exists in reality, so how can one expect Schaeffer to capture a totally made-up version of it? Even if there are some gaps, Schaefferu0026#39;s clearly thought through all the possibilities of what relationship drama (thatu0026#39;s also between family and friends) would look like in this society and it shows. Credit also belongs to Caulfield, whou0026#39;s forced to embody this u0026quot;hypotheticalu0026quot; struggle internally and instantly jives with our sympathies. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSchaefferu0026#39;s also a heck of a writer. Some studio would be wise to swoop her up to write romantic comedies (in part because sheu0026#39;s a woman and there arenu0026#39;t enough of them writing rom-coms). There wasnu0026#39;t an ounce of dialogue that felt cliché, no jokes that didnu0026#39;t feel organic to the characters making them (namely Borth, whou0026#39;s excellent) or the situations they came from.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThat brings us to the ending. I have to pity any writer who has to resolve a romantic comedy, especially one that challenges our perceptions as much as u0026quot;TiMER.u0026quot; The need for a satisfying ending is more powerful with romance than any other genre and Schaeffer already has to be poignant because this is a high-concept film. She does well. Itu0026#39;s a bit rough and she could make a better case for her decision, but at least we can take solace in the fact that itu0026#39;s not a giant cliché waiting to crack on our head. That, and the rest of the film (especially the themes and raised questions) was pretty darn good.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e~Steven Cu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eVisit my site at http://moviemusereviews.com”