Writer Richard Curtis is one of my all time favourite writers. I first fell in love with his work when I saw the TV series 'Blackadder'. For me that is not only of the funniest TV series ever written but one of the most perfectly written TV series ever made. He then went on to write some of the best romantic comedies ever seen with one 'Notting Hill' being one of my all time favourite. He did however become less than perfect when he made the film 'Rock The Boat'. He is on safer territory here with a move back to safer ground in the romantic comedy arena. While the film does deal with a romance the love story is not just about a man and a girl but a relationship between a man and his father.
Time travel is one of those plot devises which is prone to disaster. You need to be a really skilled writer to write a completely flawless story involving time travel. Sadly as skilled as Richard is he has not been completely successful. For me the problem is that he has taken the easy route with using the time travel element. There is not enough jeopardy in the story to make it very interesting considering the time travelling. I expected with this type of plot to have our hero go through some more difficult hurdles. Despite that the film has a great deal of charm and sweetness. There is lots of trademark Richard Curtis wit but maybe not as much as I'd have liked.
You may not be familiar with lead actor Domhnall Gleeson but he makes a very charming hero of the story. He has great comedic timing and you can't help but car about him. Rachel McAdams is her usually delightful self. While her character is what drives the story she does not have an awful lot to do. Bill Nighy gives his normally brilliant performance. He lights up the screen each time he is on. Also providing much of the film's humour is Tom Hollander.
It misses the cutting edge elements you would expect from a film about time travel but is still very delightful and charming.
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