Pity poor pubescent Ashton. He has Issues; his father's a psychopath. His childhood sweetheart's father is a pedophile. His childhood sweetheart's brother is a murderous psychopath. His childhood buddy is borderline autistic. Thank god ol' Ashton is a regular Joe, huh? erh, did I mention he has regular blackouts?
Luckily for him, a move and several years later everything's changed for the better. Until events bring him back to those 'holes' in his memory. Soon enough, he discovers he can go back in time and alter the pivotal events he has psychically repressed. But, of course, those changes have unforeseen consequences when he returns to the present... And he's left stranded in a different now where things are somehow worse off. So, all that's left for him is to go back to a different black out and try and put things a-right. (Don't ask why it has to be a different blackout... the plot has more holes than this guy's memory)
In short, nothing you haven't seen before, borrowed liberally from any number of sources (from It's a Wonderful Life to Sliders, by way of countless sci-fi yarns). Instead of focusing on its science fiction premise, however, the flick laudably chooses to follow up on the more human side of those changes- their repercussion on each one of the main characters' lives. Two 'small' problems make caring about them impossible, however: A) the acting ranges from mediocre to truly terrible (and their lines don't help any) and B) The script is not nearly up to the task, catering to cliches, character caricatures and easy shocks, and just being generally lame.
There is a good movie somewhere in there, though, and it occasionally shines through. Musings on good and evil, and the folly of trying to change somebody's core personality permeate the movie and begin to engage interest - only to be buried at every turn by stupid plot twists and all the cartoony hairstyle-and-wardrobe variations.
The ending merits mention. Unoriginal, true, nor especially good, but it sports an emotional punch and a nod towards maturity that the rest of the flick sorely lacks. It at least puts the movie one step up from the likes of smug, post-modern crap like Final Destination... But, in a genre which so recently gave us Donnie Darko, it frankly doesn't stand a chance.
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