The Present

Not every plot twist will make sense in this family version of Groundhog Day. So the basic premise is not original. I've learned long ago that originality is not all that important. What matters is the fact that we've got very good roles written down for a cast who knows how to deliver when they have a very good role written for them. And it works - we quickly learn to care for this dysfunctional family, and since we care we stay through to the end. Pacing is just quick enough so we don't notice the bits that make less sense, and if we do notice, as I already said - it doesn't really matter.

It's not a masterpiece, it doesn't pretend it is. It's what my title said - a well-done fun movie. If that's what you're looking for, you'll get it here.

This reviewer has a weakness for time travel story arcs. Oddly, even now, the Gold Standard for TT movies remains Groundhog Day; and, for series, the Janeway Trekkie episodes. As consumers of entertainment, we as a culture have now come to the point where a time travel story has to be 'different' to get attention. At that, THE PRESENT 2024 delivers. It is very clever. It all takes place in the present but, paradoxically, the present keeps getting altered in subtle ways. Up to you to spot that. The script and direction are ... sharp. There is no pandering of any kind to the audience. In fact, the viewer is actually expected to approach the movie like an interactive crossword puzzle, and puzzle it out dynamically. As the story unfolds. The characters are interesting, and the actors deliver. Upbeat tone. Pleasant ending. In other words -- yet another paradox. This is the kind of light and fluffy movie they used to make ... before anyone ever heard of Time Travel movies. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

The main issue with this movie is how the movie cant seem to decide which demographic its for. Is this a kids movie? Definitely not. Theres sex jokes, condom jokes, implied sex, and tons of other stuff that would lead to you having some really awkward conversations with your kids afterwards ("mommy, what did that guy mean when he said that the girl was a 'virgin'?") is this a movie for adults? Ummm... nope. The tone and premise is just way too childish and silly for that either.. so who is this movie for?

Its also got plenty of other problems under the surface as well. The actor playing the therapist was just annoying, the middle child max is just an extra in the first 2 thirds of the movie before suddenly deciding he wants to be an actual character in the final act. Also some of the sources of conflict were just dumb, like oh no, the dad is renting out a bathelor pad for when he moves out? Thats terrible for... some reason. I will say though that i did like it how whenever the movie relived a day it didnt re-show everything beat for beat, it only showed the stuff that changed from the previous day, that definitely saved a lot of filler.

Its just... meh. It just feels like a movie that came out a couple decades too late, it literally feels like a movie from the 80s or 90s. Its not terrible, but its just not completely compatible with any specific demographic.

There's something quite engaging about Easton Rocket Sweda's "Taylor" character in this quite enjoyable and fast-moving family fantasy. He is a young man who loathes being touched and who communicates via an audio-board or by using an Etch-a-Sketch. Indulged? Well that was my first thought, then we meet the family and maybe the kid has the right idea. Anyway, his grandfather's bust old clock arrives and it's put in his basement where he tinkers around with it and gets it, somewhat miraculously, to work. His parents (solid efforts from Isla Blair and Greg Kinnear) have summonsed the family to a dinner that evening to announce their trial separation, but "Taylor" has discovered that the now repaired timepiece allows him to manipulate time - within a twenty four hour period. He reckons that he can change the circumstances of his mum and dad's struggling marriage - but every time he thinks he's on the cusp of averting familial disaster, well we are soon back to square one. He decides to enlist the help of his loved-up sister "Emma" (Shay Rudolph) the then finally their brother "Max" (Mason Shea Joyce - wasn't he in "McFly"?). The more they meddle, though, the messier things get as the grown ups all lurch from one near miss to an other. Old Father Time is starting to get a bit bored with the repetitive nature of this story (not just him) and when the kids realise that they can't keep doing this indefinitely, things have to come to an head. It works quite well for about an hour with quite a quirky storyline and the five main characters having some fun with almonds, a shiny red sports car and some fake snow but thereafter the story starts to recycle itself once too often as we head to what was always a fairly predictable conclusion. It's an easy film to watch, but not one you will remember and probably not one that needs to be seen in a cinema.

A cinema release without any prior reviews on a few major websites?! How about that!

I gotta say, 'The Present' surprised me big time! The lack of awareness that I had for it prior to watching (to be expected based on the earlier mentioned, evidently), a bog-standard poster and a meh-sounding premise meant that I wasn't expecting much from this 2024 flick. However, I had a seriously good time viewing it!

It's, in my opinion, a well crafted movie and, unexpectedly, quite amusing, it is also extremely touching when all is said and done. Isla Fisher and Greg Kinnear make for a solid onscreen pairing, while the trio of youngsters in Shay Rudolph, Easton Rocket Sweda and Mason Shea Joyce - even if the latter has less to work with - all give good performances.

One bad thing about me leaving the first review is if everyone else dislikes this, so here's hoping that a barrage of low-rated reviews aren't forthcoming!😆 Hey-ho, I had fun with it and that's all I can say!