The concept of time travel has captivated audiences since its emergence into the mainstream. The Idea that one can move between time and space has been a popular plot line in both fantasy and sci-fi alike. These films are often paired with the notion that disturbing any point of the past will greatly impact the future. Yet, what happens to time travel when it enters rom-com territory?
Science fiction TV shows like The Twilight Zone and major blockbusters like Back to the Future have shown the risks of time travel for the world at large. However, time travel in rom-coms is almost entirely about the impact of true love. Like a sci-fi storyline, any event can greatly impact the main character’s future. However, in these plots, the beloved couple either never meets or splits before the ending credits. Here are the best rom-coms that depict time travel.
5 Midnight in Paris
2011's Midnight in Paris featured Owen Wilson as Gil Pender, an aspiring writer who is in Paris for holiday with his fiancée (Rachel McAdams). Gil tours the city at night and comes across a group of people who deeply resemble the great artists and writers of the past. He is invited out with them and allegedly transported to the past as he visits all the greats' favorite spots. The more time that Gil spends venturing Paris with his beloved heroes in the past, the more displeased he is with his present day life and begins to long for the times of old. Midnight in Paris explores the complexities of time travel while introducing the all too familiar notion of nostalgia. The romance has a few comedic beats, but the melancholy tone of the overall longing that the film displays, makes the idea of time travel all the more appealing.
4 About Time
On the day of his 21st birthday a young man named Tim, played by Domhnall Gleeson, is told by his father that the men in his family can travel in time. Although it is seemingly unfair to the women in the family, About Time focuses on the relationship between Tom and his father, played by Bill Nighy. Tim learns that he can't change the past to reflect on the present, but he can in fact use his future knowledge to change how he reacts in past circumstances. The romance between Tim and the woman he swoons via time travel, Mary, played by Rachel McAdams, offers a delightful commentary on the presence of love across time and space. However, underneath the romance and light comedic beats, the film harkens on a sadness that exists across all realities. Tim learns that his father is going to die, so he travels back in time to have a conversation with hm, but soon realizes that he can't spend his life traveling backwards to live forever in the memories with his father. About Time finds its strength in an overall happy love story, with a relatively sad undertone.
3 13 Going on 30
13 Going on 30 is not only one of Jennifer Garner's best films, but one of the best rom-coms of the 2000s, per AV Club. Like most teens, Jenna, played by Christa B. Allen, thinks everything will be different for her when she is older and in her 30s. After her birthday is ruined, using some of the glitter from a doll house her best guy friend, Matt, makes for her, she wishes to be one of the cool girls in school, and to be 30 years old. Jenna, now played by Jennifer Garner, wakes up and realizes that her wish came true. She has traveled through time and is now 30, working for her favorite magazine. 13 Going on 30 offers a lot of laughs, and a satisfying ending despite a few bumps in the road. The movie's use of time travel serves as the classic lesson to be careful what you wish for, as your wish may not be everything you ever dreamed it would be.
2 Click
Click, the 2006 genre jumping movie, serves up some of Adam Sandler's classic comedy, but some deal of sadness. Sandler plays a man named Michael Newman, who desperately wants to skip ahead to his big promotion. Michael can't seem to find the time, and is greeted by a mysterious man named Morty, who is played by Christopher Walken, who gives him a remote that will allow him to fast-forward, rewind, pause, or mute his entire life. This all seems great at first, until the remote begins to ceaselessly fast-forward through time. In his old age, Michael ends up alone, his wife having left him and his kids practically being strangers. For a brief moment, he dies in the rain, wishing he could go back, all before waking up in the Bed Bath and Beyond he originated in. To Michael, his time traveling device was a dream, but the lesson still remains.
1 When We First Met
Noah, played by Adam DeVine, has been in love with his best friend for years. Thinking that he can alter the night they met in order to win her affections, Noah visits a photo booth that allows him to travel through time and alter the night over and over again. Each circumstance that he alters ends up different, and there is even a timeline where he ends up not meeting her at all. After many attempts and failures, Noah realizes that it is better to remain her friend, as fate intended for the pair to be initually. When We First Met is an easy watch as far as rom-coms go, and the added bits of time travel allow for a much more interesting premise.