TiMER (2009)

If a clock could count down to the moment you meet your soul mate, would you want to know?

Director:

Jac Schaeffer

Writer:

Jac Schaeffer

Stars:

Emma Caulfield, John Patrick Amedori, Scott Holroyd

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emma Caulfield	...	Oona O'Leary
John Patrick Amedori	...	Mikey Evers
Scott Holroyd	...	Brian
Kali Rocha	...	Matchmaker Patty
Katherine Von Till	...	Local News Anchor
Ho-Kwan Tse	...	Scientist
Louise Claps	...	Wife
Jason Berger	...	Boyfriend
Gabrielle Dennis	...	Girlfriend
Marques Ray	...	Guy in Car
Sean C. Francis	...	CEO (as Sean Francis)
Susan Ziegler	...	Detractor
Christopher T. Wood	...	Primetime News Anchor
Cristina Cimellaro	...	TV Hostess
Forest Erickson	...	Eric

Storyline

When implanted in a person's wrist, a TiMER counts down to the day the wearer finds true love. But Oona O'Leary faces the rare dilemma of a blank TiMER. Her soul mate - whoever and wherever he is - has yet to have a TiMER implanted. Staring down the barrel of thirty and tired of waiting for her would-be life partner to get off the dime, Oona breaks her own rules and falls for Mikey, a charming and inappropriately young supermarket clerk with a countdown of four months.

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Plot Keywords:

soul mate | count down | love | wrist | scientific | 

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Taglines:

What if a clock could count down to the moment you meet your soul mate?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 May 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Szerelemóra

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Present Pictures, Truckbeef

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Just like with other technologies such as cell phones, different versions of the TiMER can be seen throughout the film. Oona and Steph's TiMERs are boxier and simply beep, while newer versions like their brother Jesse's are smaller and come in different colors and play a more melodic tune.

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Goofs

When Ooona and Mikey are in the kitchen, at the end of the movie, she lays her head on his right shoulder. But when she wants to leave, her head lays on his left shoulder.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Brian: Am I late?
Oona: Hi! No. Yes, 5 minutes, but who's counting.
Brian: We are, right?

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Connections

Referenced in In Time (2011)

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Soundtracks

Sweeter Than This
Performed by Katie Herzig
Written by Katie Herzig & Lisa Carver

User Reviews

Gem of a concept and excellent writing put much-needed spin on the rom-com

Every romantic comedy could use a little injection of the originality of "TiMER." By far the most interesting love stories come from independent filmmakers these days and Jac Schaeffer's debut is another shining example. Sure, science-fiction concepts and love stories aren't exactly bread and butter, but "TiMER" opens up infinite possibilities for discussion about what true love really is while remaining lively, entertaining and sharply written.

The film revolves around a concept that's simple enough: what if you could find out the day you were to meet your soul mate just by having a timer installed on your wrist? If scientific implausibility bothers you, skip "TiMER," because the film operates on this assumption entirely. Former "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" actress Emma Caulfield stars as Oona, a woman on the verge of 30 but whose timer is useless because as it turns out, her supposed soul mate doesn't have one. Although her story is the main thread, there are numerous subplots that explore the various possibilities of the implications of such a device.

The greater question at hand then becomes "what if love lost all its predictability?" How would we choose to live our lives? Oona is a successful orthodontist who desperately wants to know who "the one" is. She's taken numerous guys she has met to get timers installed to see if they're him, but to no avail. Her frustration and the influence of her promiscuous stepsister Steph (Michelle Borth) whose timer won't go off until she's over 40 lead her to a fling with a younger guy named Mikey (John Patrick Amedori) whose timer has about four months left on it.

Much of the earlier drama is regarding the question of whether two people who have proof that they aren't meant for each other should become involved. This situation and many other hypotheticals that arise in the film are tough; we barely understand love as it exists in reality, so how can one expect Schaeffer to capture a totally made-up version of it? Even if there are some gaps, Schaeffer's clearly thought through all the possibilities of what relationship drama (that's also between family and friends) would look like in this society and it shows. Credit also belongs to Caulfield, who's forced to embody this "hypothetical" struggle internally and instantly jives with our sympathies.

Schaeffer's also a heck of a writer. Some studio would be wise to swoop her up to write romantic comedies (in part because she's a woman and there aren't enough of them writing rom-coms). There wasn't an ounce of dialogue that felt cliché, no jokes that didn't feel organic to the characters making them (namely Borth, who's excellent) or the situations they came from.

That brings us to the ending. I have to pity any writer who has to resolve a romantic comedy, especially one that challenges our perceptions as much as "TiMER." The need for a satisfying ending is more powerful with romance than any other genre and Schaeffer already has to be poignant because this is a high-concept film. She does well. It's a bit rough and she could make a better case for her decision, but at least we can take solace in the fact that it's not a giant cliché waiting to crack on our head. That, and the rest of the film (especially the themes and raised questions) was pretty darn good.

~Steven C

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