Romance and Do-Overs: A Time Travel Trifecta (#SFWApro)

I dislike THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT (2004) enough to nitpick the title: The effect refers to how minor changes can have massive effects (a la The Sound of Thunder) but this is a film about big changes, such as Ashton Kutcher—having discovered he can project his mind into his younger self’s body—convincing pedophile Eric Stoltz to stop abusing Kutcher’s female best friend (unconvincingly—having a kid tell the abuser No isn’t actually effective). This is in the Monkey’s Paw school where Kutcher’s attempts to fix his friend’s past only make things worse (Stoltz abuses another kid whom Kutcher has to kill in self-defense), and worse, and worse, but it feels very heavy-handed, particularly seeing the director’s cut. In the theatrical version, Kutcher (having learned that he’s the unwitting reason the kids wound up with Stoltz instead of their mother) drives his friend away; in the director’s cut he goes back into the womb and makes himself miscarry (though I concede it fits with the generally dark tone). “You can’t change who people are without destroying who they were.”

This film did well enough to launch a franchise, though THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT 2 (2006) is a direct-to-DVD sequel in name only (i.e., no continuing characters—curiously one detail that carries over is that the time jumps are a hereditary ability). A grieving guy discovers he can project himself back in time to avert the accident that killed Great Love Erika Durance (Smallville,’s Lois), then uses the power to boost his career (going back to beat an obnoxious colleague in closing a big deal) but learns in this world he and Durance are no longer together, among other problems. I like the idea of the guy’s fault being his own ambition, but having him die to save Durance in the final do-over is way too much—it would seem simply learning his lesson would be enough (and he could still avert most of the later tragedies). Plus this undercuts the romance by having the protagonist sleep with his boss’ daughter before learning he’s no longer with Durance. “You remind me of your father when you talk like that.”

As I won’t get Butterfly Effect 3 until next week, I caught FETCHING CODY (2005), in which a low-level drug-dealer discovers his junkie girlfriend has taken a fatal overdose. Discovering friend Jim Byrnes’ recliner is a functioning time machine (even by the standards of time-travel movies this is a strain), he tries fixing the problems in Cody’s past that led her to drugs, before realizing his relationship was so toxic that to save her, he has to lose her. This makes more sense dramatically than the self-sacrifice in the Butterfly films, though it’s not entirely convincing (Cody was already on a downward path before she met him) and the protagonist comes off as such an idiot a lot of this feels more like a flop comedy than a drama. “For God’s sake, guns are bad—very bad.”