Going in, I knew this was more romance than fantasy flick, but I still wasn't prepared for the extreme fluffiness that assaulted my senses. Based on the popular novel by the same name, "The Time Traveler's Wife" is about a guy with a genetic quirk that causes him to involuntarily jump around in time -- conveniently in places that he's been or going to be -- and the woman who loves him. Kinda sounds like a topic for Dr. Phil. BTW, did I forget to mention that he time travels in the nude? Clothes fall right off. Hilarious, I know. Maybe that's a better topic for Maury, "Time Traveling Husband Paternity Tests!"
So our (nude) time traveler meets a little girl that he'll eventually marry and blah, blah. I just can't do it. This is just not a very interesting story. Not that strong of a romance either. The film does have two very appealing leads in Rachel McAdams and Erica Bana. They're very good together, but the story...meh. No real conflict. No outside obstacles keeping the two apart. They bicker and make up like couples do. Cue romantic music. He disappears at the most inopportune times. Sad music plays. Repeat and rinse. Sure, there are a few bumps along the road -- two to be exact, but you never get the sense that things won't work out. You can't change the future -- except when it comes to the lottery. A pleasant, but mostly forgettable film. For the life of me, I don't know why ABC thinks it has potential as a TV series. "Journeyman" already covered this territory quite well and went nowhere in the ratings. Box office has been solid though. At some point, I'll have to read the script -- I miss the old days, when produced scripts were hard to find. My "read pile" is huge...
Personally, I think "Somewhere In Time" with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour is a much better time-travel romance film. Surprised they haven't attempted to remake that one yet, but give 'em time...