Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival: "Timer"

This movie is rated R. The official reason is for "language", but it's one of the most mild R-rated films I've seen in quite a while language-wise and just barely past the PG-13 limits.

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I've written often enough on Hubpages (and before that on Blogspot) about romantic comedies being the most bound-by-formula genre of all. They're tied to the requirements of the genre to such a degree that it becomes very difficult even for directors who want to stretch the limits a bit, but director Jac Schaefer has found a new way... bring the romantic comedy into the science fiction area. The result is "Timer", an indie effort at the genre screening two times at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival and scheduled for general release shortly thereafter. It's interesting to see a somewhat lighter effort than usual at the fest.

In "Timer", we see a very near-future society in which all the guesswork is taken out of finding Mr. or Ms. Right: nearly everyone (except anti-social rebels or people from places like Oklahoma or Michigan) get digital-clock wrist implants called "timers" that count down the days, hours, and seconds until you meet "the one"... the next person you see after it counts down to zero and starts beeping like crazy IS your true love. Oona (Emma Caulfield of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer") is about to turn 30 and her implant is still blank, indicating her Mr. Right still hasn't had his implant installed, and it's driving her crazy. And her 14 year old brother just had his installed and learned that he's going to meet "the one" in just THREE DAYS. Sometimes life just isn't fair.

If you're inclined to ask questions about how the makers of these devices can possibly know who your "one" is and how long it's going to be until you meet them... or whether the vast majority of people would really surrender their ability to make their own decisions to a machine... then this isn't the movie for you (I suspect they probably WOULD give up their free will, though). This is just one of those movies where you're supposed to accept the premise and then think "where would things go from there?", and considering that it's a light and fluffy comedy I think it's probably rather an accurate reflection of what kind of a world we might have with real "timers". And if you're willing to meet it halfway, it turns out to be a quite amusing 99 minutes in the theatre.

A lot of that is due to the cast, who make you interested enough in their characters that you can sail past some unlikely plot developments and concepts more easily. Emma Caulfield is both more likeable and funnier than the vast majority of romantic comedy stars who are bigger names (and, seriously, I'd think that even if I weren't still such a "Buffy" fan), and it's nice to see Jobeth Williams ("Poltergeist" and many others) after a long absence from the screen as Caulfield's slightly flakey mother. But the real standout in the cast, for me, was someone who until now I don't think I've I've ever heard of, or at least have no recollection of: Michelle Borth as Caulfield's step-sister. She's all of the snarky, sarcastic things that Caulfield is not, and unlike most (including her step-sister) perfectly willing to accept short-term relationships that her "timer" tells her are not "the one"... she trusts her own instincts more. And she's also the type who, when she gets frustrated enough by a forgetful, elderly woman patient at the nursing home where she works as a receptionist, is ready to tell the old woman "Yes, that's right, mom, I AM your daughter. Not only that... but I'm gay, and my girlfriend is black!" I hope bigger and better things are in store for her.

For all the movie's strong points, I was a little disappointed in its ultimate message (at least as I interpret it) of having too much faith in the timers. I think that one of the key defining characterstics that make us human is our ability to think for ourselves and make our own decisions about our own lives, and that someone who is willing to give that up and let a machine make up their mind for them might as well BE a machine. Messy and painful as it sometimes is, I'd still rather be human. And after seeming to endorse rebellion against the timers and being in total support of free will, the film lets me down a little bit by more or less saying that the machines know best. As I said earlier, I do believe that's probably the route a lot of people would actually go, but this IS a movie... fiction... and not real life, and it would have been nice to see the director go against the grain in this area. I'm not saying it spoils the movie, which is still very entertaining and fun, just that it could have been even more so IF...

I don't know how widely "Timer" is going to go in its "wide" release, whether it will just be in "art" theatres or break into the multiplexes (which not that many indies manage to do), but if it does go wide enough, I'd certainly still recommend it to romcom fans who might be looking for a bit of a change of pace. You might even be able to drag along some folks who don't normally care for the genre but are intrigued by the science-fiction trappings. And the free will vs. machine debate could actually provide some interesting fuel for debate afterward. So, if you get the chance... why not try it? It certainly has more imagination than most movies in its field.