The Present

Not every plot twist will make sense in this family version of Groundhog Day. So the basic premise is not original. I've learned long ago that originality is not all that important. What matters is the fact that we've got very good roles written down for a cast who knows how to deliver when they have a very good role written for them. And it works - we quickly learn to care for this dysfunctional family, and since we care we stay through to the end. Pacing is just quick enough so we don't notice the bits that make less sense, and if we do notice, as I already said - it doesn't really matter.

It's not a masterpiece, it doesn't pretend it is. It's what my title said - a well-done fun movie. If that's what you're looking for, you'll get it here.

Dysfunctional family is about to break up and an old antique clock arrives that changes everything. The youngest boy who refuses to be touched or speak (easiest part for any actor) fixes the clock and discovers it can reset the day about 12 hours earlier. He goes about trying different time paradoxes to attempt to keep his parents from splitting up. A lot of goofiness and just plain weird encounters with other people who have their own agendas. Kind of a strange, can be very confusing as the time resets so many times during the movie till they finally get it right. Nothing questionable, no nudity a few foul language words but not much. An "ok" watch but didn't keep me interested as much as other films of this genre. Ok for all family members. Enjoy!

It's really sad how critics wrote this Christian Ditter film off. It's actually a pretty great family comedy, aimed at younger children, propulsive and colorful with a great message placed safely within a very mischievous faux-SF plot.

This science fiction aspect of the film is actually the easiest one to get out of the way. It's a gateway movie when it comes to science fiction and it's a nice introduction to chronomotion and stuff like Groundhog Day and maybe even Back to the Future. Of course, the real deal works are better and obviously the best version of this plot device but as an interpretation for kids, Jay Martel and Christian Ditter deliver a proper version.

So, any unfavorable comparison to science fiction classics of cinema aimed at older audiences are literally moronic. This film is actually doing a favor to the genre.

However the fundamental element of this film is not chronomotion. It's family values and the ability of family members to actually heal it and fix its issues. It's inspired by Parent Trap alright but it's an archetypal thing and Isla Fisher & Greg Kinnear play the main characters as a couple worth keeping together.

Kids are also pretty great in leading roles and Christian Ditter brings great proficiency to staging which is pacy and imaginative.

Mayve, the film fell victim to its perceived lack of Wokeness, even though there are elements of inclusion. But if you are on the lookout (no pun intended to Fisher's film Lookout) for quality family fare, check this out,

This reviewer has a weakness for time travel story arcs. Oddly, even now, the Gold Standard for TT movies remains Groundhog Day; and, for series, the Janeway Trekkie episodes. As consumers of entertainment, we as a culture have now come to the point where a time travel story has to be 'different' to get attention. At that, THE PRESENT 2024 delivers. It is very clever. It all takes place in the present but, paradoxically, the present keeps getting altered in subtle ways. Up to you to spot that. The script and direction are ... sharp. There is no pandering of any kind to the audience. In fact, the viewer is actually expected to approach the movie like an interactive crossword puzzle, and puzzle it out dynamically. As the story unfolds. The characters are interesting, and the actors deliver. Upbeat tone. Pleasant ending. In other words -- yet another paradox. This is the kind of light and fluffy movie they used to make ... before anyone ever heard of Time Travel movies. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

There's something quite engaging about Easton Rocket Sweda's "Taylor" character in this quite enjoyable and fast-moving family fantasy. He is a young man who loathes being touched and who communicates via an audio-board or by using an Etch-a-Sketch. Indulged? Well that was my first thought, then we meet the family and maybe the kid has the right idea. Anyway, his grandfather's bust old clock arrives and it's put in his basement where he tinkers around with it and gets it, somewhat miraculously, to work. His parents (solid efforts from Isla Blair and Greg Kinnear) have summonsed the family to a dinner that evening to announce their trial separation, but "Taylor" has discovered that the now repaired timepiece allows him to manipulate time - within a twenty four hour period. He reckons that he can change the circumstances of his mum and dad's struggling marriage - but every time he thinks he's on the cusp of averting familial disaster, well we are soon back to square one. He decides to enlist the help of his loved-up sister "Emma" (Shay Rudolph) the then finally their brother "Max" (Mason Shea Joyce - wasn't he in "McFly"?). The more they meddle, though, the messier things get as the grown ups all lurch from one near miss to an other. Old Father Time is starting to get a bit bored with the repetitive nature of this story (not just him) and when the kids realise that they can't keep doing this indefinitely, things have to come to an head. It works quite well for about an hour with quite a quirky storyline and the five main characters having some fun with almonds, a shiny red sports car and some fake snow but thereafter the story starts to recycle itself once too often as we head to what was always a fairly predictable conclusion. It's an easy film to watch, but not one you will remember and probably not one that needs to be seen in a cinema.