CHAOS THEORY (2007)

Directed By: Marcos Siega 
Written By: Daniel Taplitz 
Cinematography By: Ramsey Nickell 
Editor: Nicholas Erasmus 

 Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Emily Mortimer, Stuart Townsend, Sarah Chalke, Constance Zimmer, Elisabeth Harnois

At his daughter's wedding, time-management specialist Frank Allen corners the reluctant groom and tells him a long story: about the night his wife chose him, and then, about eight years later, when a missed ferry, a corporate groupie, a panicked expectant mother, and a medical test brought Frank's marriage to a crisis. In the midst of the crisis were Frank, his wife Susan, their daughter Jesse, and Frank's best friend, the feckless Buddy. Things come to a head at a lake when Frank, armed with a shotgun, decides to cross something permanently from one of his time-management lists. Is there ever room for whim and chaos?

Going into this film I thought it would be a typical straight to DVD trifle, but as the movie went on the more I admired the film and I believe so will you.

It's a low budget film. So it has the look of a Canadian feature (really a Canadian TV movie) that seems like a typical romantic comedy, in fact it has a type of sitcom type of wacky mix ups and soon morphs into a slapstick screwball comedy. While dipping into some emotional dramatic territory.

This is one of those films that comes out of nowhere. you never saw it coming yet completely charms you.

I have to admit when Ryan Reynolds first started out. I thought of him as a better looking and more muscular version of Jason Lee as he seemed to be more o a wisecracker then an actor in various films usually comedies (even though I remember him from a Canadian teen soap opera) but he was given a chance to show his range and luckily not all were horrible. Which helped him not only hone his talents, but also gain the respect of audiences and other filmmakers. So that he doesn't feel a need to prove himself. Now that he has made more higher profile films. Though he does seem the rare actor to take on challenging roles and put his money where his mouth is. Though like Hugh Jackman while he dips his toes in the blockbuster he seems to struggle to fight and prove himself a noteworthy actor.

The situations of the film seem to be more in line with those of a screwball comedy though then try to throw in melodrama that feels like a weird mixture that has shifting moods. At it's heart the film is a love story. The complications and risks you have to take to find it and keep it.

The film is enjoyable and breezy a satisfying rental.

Grade: B-