FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TIME TRAVEL

2009

DIRECTOR: GARETH CARRIVIVK

CINEMATOGRAPHER: JOHN PARDUE

WRITER: JAMIE MATHIESON

BUDGET: ?

GROSS: $23,820

We’re an audience that has seen it all. We know the conventions of genres and the way things generally play out from having been exposed to decades of films and film making. We’re a generation that knows it and has no problem telling people that we know it. So, what do film makers do for audiences like that? Well, they show us that they know it also.

These postmodern films, or is it post-postmodern (I don't even know anymore) not only embrace the conventions of their genres, but they directly reference them and tell the audience they’re doing it. And when it’s done well we get films like Scream and Shaun Of The Dead. And what those two films did to horror and zombie movies respectively, Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel does to movies about... Yup, you guessed it... Time travel!

This little gem of a film from the U.K. brings us three friends: two are nerds (although, they don't like that word and prefer the term imaginear) and one guy who likes calling them nerds (he watched one Star Wars movie, hated it and hasn't looked back).

One night they’re at their local pub talking about the latest piece of crap Hollywood film they saw, writing a letter to Hollywood telling them how they can fix things when Ray, one of the imaginears who’s obsessed with time travel, goes up to get three pints and runs into a hot babe from the future.... Comedy, science-fiction and time-travel ensue.

The film is only 80-minutes long, but it does in those 80-minutes what many films don't do in 100-minutes or more: tell a good, complete and satisfying story (which is good, because in the letter the guys write to Hollywood, they start off by saying that "story is king. Always has been and always will be." So, if the Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel story had been unsuccessful it would have been some sad irony).

I will often take films to task for forgetting about the story, or for feeling cut short and not providing enough development of character or plot to make the film feel complete, or allow the audience to get emotionally invested. However, FAQ About Time Travel does all that in 80-minutes - and, it will make you laugh all the way through.

Given the weird, random events and internet clicks that lead to me finding out about this film years ago, I’m going to assume that many of you reading this haven't seen it, or even heard of its existence. Regardless, you should go find it, and enjoy.