Chaos Theory

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Emily Mortimer, Stuart Townsend, Sarah Chalke, Mike Erwin
Directed by: Marcos Siega
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
2008

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: An efficiency expert (Ryan Reynolds) has his life spiral out of control when his wife sets the clock ahead 10 minutes. He is late for a seminar, contemplates having an affair with a mysterious woman (Sarah Chalke) and helps a stranger deliver a baby. For a man who runs his life like clockwork, a little chaos has unexpected and unbelievable results.

Review:

Tim: I was a bit disappointed with this movie. I was actually really, really looking forward to it. It looked like an edgy, smaller and more independent dramedy, starring Ryan Reynolds in a bit of a more serious role, and had a very good supporting cast, including Scrubs' Sarah Chalke. The premise of the movie even sounded terrific. However, the movie is not all that was advertised. It has a bit of an identity crisis, and never really comes across as complete or effective. It is disappointing in many ways.

Ryan Reynolds does give a fairly good performance. I absolutely loved the first five minutes of him on screen (this takes place in the present and most of the movie is told in flashbacks), but his performance declines after that initial spark. I really believe he can be a very exceptional actor, and I hope he takes on more roles like this. For all its faults, the film did give him the opportunity to do a bit of serious acting. I really liked those moments. Emily Mortimer did a very good job as well. She has to be one of the most consistently good actresses out there. No matter what movie she is in, she's enjoyable.

I did not really like Stuart Townsend, but then again, I don't know if I've ever really liked Townsend. He is a forgettable actor, and he is forgettable here. I really liked seeing Sarah Chalke in the film. I wish she had a bigger and better role, but as a huge fan of Scrubs, I definitely want to see more of her on the big screen.

This movie starts out well, but starts to get weak fairly early on. The movie seems to lose all sense of what it was supposed to be. Is this a thought-provoking drama, a ridiculous comedy, or somewhere in between? I definitely believe dramedies work well, but there needed to be a clearer end goal in mind. As is, the film strays back and forth and that makes it difficult to know what exactly to think of it. It is oftentimes very powerful and stark, but it also becomes far too silly.

The film unfortunately takes some very odd turns, and suddenly becomes a movie about something else entirely. The story isn't particularly believable or realistic, so it is hard to really buy into what you're watching. As the film goes on, it gets more and more outlandish, until the final conclusion, which I had a very hard time taking seriously. The movie becomes surprisingly ineffective rather quickly. it was almost as if the writers just gave up towards the end.

Chaos Theory was certainly a valiant effort at a movie that easily could have been fantastic. However, the movie fumbles the execution, and I just couldn't forgive it of its flaws. In a few moments, I recognized the greatness that could have been present in this movie. Sadly, that greatness only exists in those rare and fleeting moments. The major of the film never achieves its potential- it doesn't even come close. I can't claim that this is a very good movie at all.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



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