THE POPCORN REEL FILM REVIEW/"Chaos Theory"
Frank Allen's Crash and Burn Happenstance,
With Uncertain Terms Of Endearment
By Omar P.L. Moore/April 11, 2008
Sarah Chalke as Paula and Ryan Reynolds as Frank in
Marcos Siega's "Chaos Theory", which opened today across the U.S. and Canada.
(Photo: Warner Brothers)
To its credit, "Chaos Theory" is a solid mix of
comedy and drama, but isn't an especially memorable film. Ryan Reynolds, most
recently seen on the big screen in "Definitely, Maybe" in February, has a crisis
of conflict and confusion on his hands in this new film, which sees him telling
a story of how his marriage faced many a breaking point. Mr. Reynolds plays
Frank Allen, a motivational speaker who preaches that time is of the essence.
Time has a way of controlling Frank, as do some horrendously timed situations
that either doom him or make communication 101 an essential prerequisite.
Still, Susan, Frank's wife (played by Emily Mortimer) keeps her hysteria at her
husband's unwitting predicaments (you have to see these to believe them) to a
minimum, and dressed in a staid presentation as a 1950's-ish school teacher has
been harboring a secret that is at the core of their marital discord.
Buddy (Stuart Townsend) perhaps ironically named, has been friends with Frank
and Susan since forever, and for some reason many New Year's Eves ago Susan agreed to
marry one of them. If you want to find out the "key" to the film, you need pay
close attention to the first five or so minutes, for the dynamics it turns out, have
been laid out before our very eyes. Mr. Reynolds is good as an anguished,
spontaneous wreck, combustible and volatile at the same time. He plays drama
without being overwrought and lends an awkward physicality to Frank that
works well for his mental state. He takes on an end-of-the-world-or-else
persona at some points in "Chaos Theory", but he is just about the only actor in
the film that seems to try. Miss Mortimer, so good in "Lars and the Real Girl",
is lacking here as Susan, playing the wife who appears to be an emasculator yet becomes
something other than that. The performance feels more like an imitation of
something that Meryl Streep did many years ago (in "Kramer Vs. Kramer") yet
played for laughs here.
The theory is that when movies like this are being hatched, it is helpful to
have a solid sensible screenplay that keeps things going. "Chaos Theory"
is definitely a better film than last year's woebegone "Good Luck Chuck", and it
is probably unfair to compare the two. Mr. Reynolds is more of a victim of
circumstance in this film, while Dane Cook willed himself into situations that
he didn't necessarily want to become part of.
"Chaos Theory", which is directed by Marcos Siega and written by Daniel Taplitz,
isn't so much an example of chaos as it is a matter of a roadmap that is missing
an extra something -- direction. The film could have raised the stakes a little
more pushing the envelope of the mix between uncomfortable comedy and
drama. The film flirts with this horizon but somehow pulls back, as if afraid
to be as free-flowing and daring as its lead character is. The film could
have had greater mileage had it stuck to the philosophies of Frank Allen and
just gone full bore. Instead, the film meekly travels along its merry way,
becoming a little schmaltzy when in reality it should have been harder-edged as a
comedy and more full throttle in some of the ways that "The Break-Up" and other
similar films have been.
"Chaos Theory" is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America
for mature thematic material, sexual content and language. The film's
duration is one hour and 25 minutes.
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