Less "Groundhog Day" and more "Love Actually"

Rating: 7/10 (4 November 2013)

This is a great example of a movie without real drama. Or rather, without melodrama.
I can't quite fit it into any genre because everything is so understated. The acting, the plot, etc- everything has a sort of dulled "real life" flow to it. There's no emotional outbursts, no unbelievable comic mishaps (with maybe one or two exceptions), and no real clear ending to the story.
It's like we're just watching some guy live out some of his life, and like real life, not a heck of a lot actually *happens* (in a movie sense, anyway).
But that's not necessarily a bad thing; the movie's strength is in its characters. I loved the main character, and just about all the supporting characters are enjoyable. They all have a sort of level- headed-ness that is usually omitted for the sake of movie-drama.
But therein lies my disappointment with the film- with such a great premise, I wonder why they decided to play it down rather than up? The hook was seemingly made to be an all-out comedy- with the ability to "undo" your mistakes or actions, why not let the characters go to extremes? The events of the movie and the character's use of his power remain frustratingly low-key.
This film is less Groundhog Day and more Love Actually. And that's fine, I love Love Actually, but if that's the movie you're going to make, why give your character a super-power? The "gimmick" is never exploited to its full potential, and despite a smooth script and lovable characters, I was left a little disappointed.