DVD REVIEW: Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel

Fans of Doctor Who might be interested to check out this time travel comedy from 2009.  It was written by Jamie Mathieson who wrote two of the best episodes from last year's series: Mummy on the Orient Express and Flatline.  Although it is inferior to the quality of those stories, it is an enjoyable film with entertaining performances and plot.

During an evening in their local pub, three blokes stumble across a tear in the space/time continuum in the gent's toilets.  Through this they travel backwards and forwards in time and have to work out how to fix the problem without bumping into themselves and therefore erasing themselves from existence.  A mysterious woman from the future also appears at random moments and implies that the trio have an important destiny.

Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel seems heavily influenced by Shaun of the Dead (2004).  The film focuses on three young male friends who are unhappy in their work and love life, and it's easy to imagine Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in these parts.  Both films also use the setting of a grotty pub and cheesy music is played from jukeboxes for comic effect.  

Unfortunately, the comparison to Shaun of the Dead, does not favour FAQ About Time Travel.  Although well played by three engaging comic actors, Chris O'Dowd, Marc Wooton and Dean Lennox Kelly, the central characters are thinly drawn.  There is very little back story and at only 83 minutes, little time for proper characterisation.   O'Dowd plays Ray, not a great leap from his IT Crowd character Roy,  who is obsessed by time travel and science fiction.  There is a very weak romance between Ray and the mysterious time-traveller Cassie (Anna Faris).  Wooton plays Toby who dreams up awful sci-fi plot ideas and writes a letter to "Hollywood" complaining about their lack of originality.  Lennox Kelly plays Pete who is more cynical and less nerdy, being unable to distinguish between Star Wars and Star Trek.  Another major similarity between this and the Shaun of the Dead is that both films are full of intertextual references.

Mathieson's script is better on plot than characterisation.  There are some good twists and a lack of unnecessary  pseusdo-science.   Sadly, the film's director Gareth Carrivick died of leukaemia only a year its release.  It was his only feature film.  Although the film lacks cinematic flair, Carrivick used his experience directing television sitcoms to get likeable comic performances from the cast. Although not a great success, this film is recommended to anyone interested in time travel concepts and to fans of the lead actors' other work.