Review of Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel (2009) by David J — 24 Dec 2009

With films like "Cronocrimenes" and "Primer", the noughties have decidedly been a good decade for time travel. But "FAQ About Time Travel" does not belong with these disturbing, high-brow meditations on the dark side of time travel: generally described as "Shaun of the Dead" meets "Back to the Future" or "Doctor Who" (because it is about a group of nerds - sorry, imagineers - timeslipping in a pub), it is more like the British version of the very clever Japanese comedy "Summer Time Machine Blues" (which you haven't seen but should have.).

FAQ is all about character interaction, witty dialogue, and pop culture references to everything from the movie posters for the "Back to the Future" trilogy to "Aliens", "The Corbomite Maneuver" and beyond. It is about what happens when a recently unemployed science-fiction fan finally gets his wish to become a Time Lord (which is also my calling, after Doctor of the Church), though not much lording over time happens here, so that he would be something closer to a Time Vassal, which has less of a ring to it.

Apart from the rough language and some very mild gore, neither of which I found too obtrusive, the film is quite delightful, and makes for a nice Christmas experience: I watched it on December 23, and it did put me in a Christmassy mood, with its sense of wonder, and the dust from the nuclear armageddon looking just like snow. Anna Faris makes a good romantic interest (she is the perfect intersection of cute and funny, though I've seen her cuter with less make-up on) and the film ends on a perfect note, making me wish for a sequel.

How long will we have to wait for "FAQ About Parallel Universes"? (Not counting this FAQ.).