True to its title, filmmaker Marcos Siega's Chaos Theory is a bit of a mess, essentially serving up an overheated domestic drama leavened with bleakly humorous moments. Ryan Reynolds, leaving his frat-boy image behind, plays Frank Allen, a stern motivational speaker who manages his daily routine with precise planning, all the while teaching others the secret of increasing productivity with effective time management. When a string of accidents convinces Frank's wife Susan (Emily Mortimer) that he's not just unfaithful but a bigamist, she tosses him out—and while trying to win her back, Frank discovers that he's not the father of their daughter. Frank's reaction to this revelation is to radically alter his lifestyle, letting pure chance determine his future actions, and from this point on Chaos Theory alternates between sequences illustrating Frank's new freewheeling approach to life and scenes revolving around possible reconciliation. All of this is complicated by the fact that the child's actual father turns out to be the couple's best friend, which drives the plot into a dead end involving a farcical murder attempt. Chaos Theory routinely takes the easy path, going for cheesy sentiment, tinny laughs, and crude soap-operatic theatrics instead of offering anything really edgy or incisive. As a result, this supposed dramedy manages to be both humorless and bathetic—a maddening misfire. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include both widescreen and full screen versions on the same disc, six minutes of additional scenes, and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for a disappointing film.] (F. Swietek)
Chaos Theory
Warner, 87 min., PG-13, DVD: $27.99, June 17 Volume 23, Issue 4
Chaos Theory
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: