Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel
| Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel | |
|---|---|
 UK Theatrical Poster | |
| Directed by | Gareth Carrivick |
| Written by | Jamie Mathieson |
| Produced by | Neil Peplow Justin Anderson Smith |
| Starring | Chris O'Dowd Dean Lennox Kelly Marc Wootton Anna Faris |
| Cinematography | John Pardue |
| Edited by | Stuart Gazzard Christopher Blunden |
| Music by | James L. Venable |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Picturehouse Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 83 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel (stylised as FAQ About Time Travel) is a 2009 comic science fiction film directed by Gareth Carrivick from a script by Jamie Mathieson, starring Anna Faris, Chris O'Dowd, Marc Wootton and Dean Lennox Kelly.
The film follows two social outcasts and their cynical friend as they attempt to navigate a time travel conundrum in the middle of a British pub. Faris plays a girl from the future who sets the adventure in motion.
It was released in the UK and Ireland on 24 April 2009.
On its television premiere on BBC Two on 1 August 2010, the film was dedicated to its director Gareth Carrivick, who had died earlier in the year.
Plot
Ray (Chris O'Dowd) has been fired from his job as a costumed guide in a theme park attraction called "Star Ride". Ray's good friends Pete (Dean Lennox Kelly) and Toby (Marc Wootton) work at the theme park restaurant and they all decide to go to a cinema and pub after they leave.
Ray meets an American girl named Cassie (Anna Faris) who claims to have a time machine built into her body and whose job is to find and repair "time leaks" and stop "editors". Understandably, Ray's friends have some trouble believing her.
However, they end up traveling back and forth through time within the pub. Hints about their journey appear in different time stops. They meet a second time traveler, named Millie (Meredith MacNeill). Cassie is told about Millie and is immediately suspicious, with good reason. Cassie's time machine is taken offline and she finally meets Millie. Millie makes Toby an offer to die and be a legend which, of course, he refuses.
At the end of the movie, the three friends walk home wondering about the events in the pub when Cassie appears through a big glowing portal. She reveals that they have only fourteen hours to save the Earth (a reference to the film Flash Gordon), and urges them to go with her to a parallel universe.
Cast
- Chris O'Dowd as Ray, the imagineer
- Dean Lennox Kelly as Pete, the cynic
- Marc Wootton as Toby, the dreamer
- Anna Faris as Cassie, the time traveler
- Meredith MacNeill as Millie, time traveler
Home media
The DVD was released on 7 September 2009 in the UK.[1]
Production
The film is a co-production between HBO Films and BBC Films. It was filmed at Pinewood Studios in the UK.[2] The credits of the film include thanks to "The Wheatsheaf Pub".
Design
The opening credits appear in outline block letters in light blue against the background of space, in the same style as the Superman films.[3]
Reception
Critical reception has been mixed. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave it a rating of 40% based on twenty professional reviews.[4]
Empire magazine concludes "Quirky and engaging with a script that keeps you on the ride."[5] The review for the Daily Mirror's verdict was: "This engaging comedy feels like a stretched-out TV pilot, but is nicely put together, with enough laughs to make a refreshing change from usual Brit film fare."[6]
The Irish Times described it as a "mildly diverting yarn" but was critical of the small scale of the film and the apparently limited budget.[7] Peter Bradshaw reviewed the film for The Guardian and said that it was "the worst film of the week, a dire British comedy, to which the only honest response is to soil and then set fire to the Union flag in the foyer of your local cinema."[8]
Soundtrack
- "Kayleigh" - performed by The Countdown Singers
- "Slippin' and Slidin'" - performed by Rendle
- "Flea Circus" - performed by Marder
- "Geno" - performed by The Countdown Singers
- "The Land of Make Believe" - performed by Bucks Fizz
- "Rivers of Babylon" - performed by Boney M
- "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" - performed by Bonnie Tyler
- "Magic" - performed by The Countdown Singers
- "The Final Countdown" - performed by Eskimo Disco
- "Humans" - performed by Ry Byron & The Gentlemen
References
- ^ FAQ About Time Travel (Frequently Asked Questions), Play.com
- ^ Mathieson, Jamie (16 October 2006). "Pinewood Studios Diary 1". Jamie Mathieson: Blog.
- ^ Rodgers, Matthew. "Close Up Film Reviews - F - Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel (2009)". Close-Up Film Reviews. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012.
- ^ Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ Wilding, Phil (24 April 2009). "Empire's Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel Movie Review". Empire.
- ^ Adams, Mark (24 April 2009). "Faq About Time Travel". Daily Mirror.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel". The Irish Times. 24 April 2009.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter (24 April 2009). "Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel review". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2012.