Going back in time

Rating: Null/10 (1 January 2016)

Provided with a time machine by future beings with a vested interest in seeing them pass History, two high school slackers travel back in time and capture assorted historical figures in this popular 80s comedy. Given how nonsensical the plot is (the film assumes that interactions with historical figures will not alter the past - plus the Beethoven of the film is not deaf), the movie relies heavily on the charm and likability of its young protagonists to carry things through and fortunately the chemistry between stars Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves is spot-on all the way. The pair mispronouncing names such as Freud and Socrates admittedly grows groan-inducing quite quickly, but there is something to be said for the way Winter and Reeves seem able to predict one another's moves, often saying and doing spontaneous things in synchrony. The film also gets some good laughs from having historical figures at a loss to twentieth century living (Freud's constant psychoanalysing of everything is great), however, contemporary interactions with Napoleon were done more cleverly in 'I Dream of Jeannie' and the film does not feature anywhere near enough scenes in which the historical figures bond with each other; one of the best scenes has Socrates and Billy the Kid trying to hit on girls together like high school pals. While bits and pieces of the film do not work though, everything spirals towards a memorable, if over-the-top, auditorium climax and the final line that George Carlin says to the camera ensures that the film at least concludes on a humorous note.