"Chaos Theory" is the story of Ryan Reynold's character, Frank Allen, reminiscing back to his younger and crazy years as a man who--well, wasn't so crazy in the beginning. You see, Frank Allen is a prioritizer. And not just a regular one: he prioritizes EVERY single area of his life. But one day, his perfect little life is sent out of control when his wife sets the clock ten minutes later than it really should be. Things are never the same for Frank again.
He is sent on a zany journey which makes him jump through multiple hoops and teaches him, in the end, that love is the only thing that can't be prioritized. It's outside of the bounds of time, and just happens. A very run-of-the-mill lesson.
What makes this film special is not the lesson it's intended to present, which has already been handed to us in so many different forms anyways, but the way it executes each scene and event that leads up to that lesson. Daniel Taplitz writes a clever, oh-so comic script that will enrapture any audience with its humor and randomness. Ryan Reynolds nails his part, from every subtle, yet distinctive expression he gives to his suaveness.
What this film fails to give to the audience, however, is..emotion. In between Frank Allen's long, bizarre journey in which he struggles to prioritize things to go his way, but learns in the end that only true love (not his prioritizing) can bring him and his wife together, there are a few moments that are thrown in that are supposed to be emotional (characters weeping, heads held close), and they just don't click. To suddenly and very abruptly switch from comedy to drama takes a true artist of precision. Judd Apatow does it with "Funny People," but Chaos Theory, even with its clever writing, can't seem to pull it off.
Overall, even with its generic moral and failure to pluck the strings of the audiences' heart, Chaos Theory is still a clever, pleasurable film. If only it could've had more time in the script-writing process and a little better direction, though...
He is sent on a zany journey which makes him jump through multiple hoops and teaches him, in the end, that love is the only thing that can't be prioritized. It's outside of the bounds of time, and just happens. A very run-of-the-mill lesson.
What makes this film special is not the lesson it's intended to present, which has already been handed to us in so many different forms anyways, but the way it executes each scene and event that leads up to that lesson. Daniel Taplitz writes a clever, oh-so comic script that will enrapture any audience with its humor and randomness. Ryan Reynolds nails his part, from every subtle, yet distinctive expression he gives to his suaveness.
What this film fails to give to the audience, however, is..emotion. In between Frank Allen's long, bizarre journey in which he struggles to prioritize things to go his way, but learns in the end that only true love (not his prioritizing) can bring him and his wife together, there are a few moments that are thrown in that are supposed to be emotional (characters weeping, heads held close), and they just don't click. To suddenly and very abruptly switch from comedy to drama takes a true artist of precision. Judd Apatow does it with "Funny People," but Chaos Theory, even with its clever writing, can't seem to pull it off.
Overall, even with its generic moral and failure to pluck the strings of the audiences' heart, Chaos Theory is still a clever, pleasurable film. If only it could've had more time in the script-writing process and a little better direction, though...