Every man has a soft spot for romance movies whether they willingly admit it or not. Not every movie that comes out in this genre is a gem however. In fact most are pyrite, they look good on the surface and are completely worthless within. In a man’s search for that perfect gold nugget to present his significant other with on Valentine’s Day it is important to have some perspective or advice. Is The Time Traveler’s Wife that special movie guaranteed to "seal the deal"?
Let’s focus first on the recipe for this movie, in other words what makes the cover shiny and attractive? Eric Bana is a man’s man. He cracked opponents in Troy and has the perfect look for the romance genre. Rachel McAdams is everyone’s darling. She was colorfully funny in Mean Girls, passable in Red Eye and who can ever forget the immortal classic that launched her career, The Notebook. McAdams is young, beautiful and by all accounts a romantic woman. So why does she have absolutely no chemistry with Eric Bana whatsoever? The two never deliver on the promise of the novel The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. The screen adaptation is simply there. It starts out red hot with an air of "I am going to make you cry and feel anguish for two hours" and then is fizzles out like pop rocks after the initial burst. What went wrong? In novel form it is acceptable and often exhilarating for readers when an author invents a concept such as two lovers doomed by the husband’s inevitable time travel. He appears and reappears without rhyme or reason. He cannot control when or where he is. At their wedding he was at first the young groom and then on the runway he reappeared as a gray bearded version of himself from the future. It is unclear how many of him exist. Even after his death he reappears at random intervals though inexplicably less frequently. Whereas the concept at first intrigued me, seeing it employed fifty or a hundred times, it simply wore out its welcome and became ridiculous. There is no fluidity to the story. Appearing as a younger or an older man each time meant that Bana had to change looks and personalities and thus never established a concrete character for us to wrap our arms around. Rachel McAdams for her part fell in love with her future husband while playing in a meadow outside her father’s mansion as an adolescent. When a naked Bana appeared she kindly offered him her picnic blanket. Having a forty year old man show up naked with a six year old girl is not romantic ladies and gentleman, it is sickeningly creep and frankly stupid. The directors could have done a much better job of making this interesting rather than eerily suspicious. As the storyline moves along McAdams suffers two miscarriages and for some reason wants to continue trying the have child well-realizing it will be a time traveler and ultimately lead a lonely life of misery. Since the older Bana decided to spare her the agony and had a vasectomy performed, she decided to seduce his younger self unaware of future events (this is beyond unclear and is already annoying). They have a daughter who somehow can go back in time to see her dead grandmother sing and to watch her parents walk around with her in the womb. Still suspending disbelief? It is as ridiculous in this review as it seems to be in the movie. It would be impossible to recap all of the plot points and I would rather not do so since I am not the novelist Audrey Niffenegger. The movie The Time Traveler’s Wife tries with every fiber of its being to be great, but in the process it loses any hint of romance and becomes a grueling journey with a rather grim finish. I have the feeling this could have been so much more. How can one pack a hundred plot twists into a two hour movie and not make viewers uncomfortable? There is too much to handle here for the actors and actresses. I wanted to love this movie and I do not even like it. It looked so good on the surface but inside it is worthless, just like the aforesaid pyrite. Too bad, the first few minutes were brilliant. Before I finish, it is important to give praise where it is due. Neither Eric Bana nor Rachel McAdams are responsible for their lack of chemistry or for the movie being less than spectacular. The screenplay is what it is, unimpressive. One can clearly see them trying as hard as they can as actors but the blandness is still there. One might want to know how the movie ends, but the enjoyment is lost in time, best to travel another road this Valentine’s Day!
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