Twee "Map of Tiny Perfect Things" gains enough mileage out of time-loop conceit with charismatic leads

The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (2021)


What if time was broken? You would be scot-free from getting old and going to school, and you could do anything you wanted because no one else would remember tomorrow. “The Map of Tiny Perfect Things” approaches this universal wish-fulfillment concept as a frivolous, meaningless free-for-all, until the consequences bring a sense of soul-searching and melancholy. Considering there is an entire genre of time-loop cinema unto itself—most fresh is 2020’s raucously funny, sneakily perceptive romantic comedy “Palm Springs”—this teen romance doesn’t move the needle very far, but enough mileage is gained from that appealingly familiar conceit when it's likably played by two adorable leads. 


High school student Mark (Kyle Allen) wakes up every morning with a routine, not because he’s regimented but because he is caught in a time loop. At this point, Mark has memorized everything his father (Josh Hamilton) and sister (Cleo Fraser) will say before they actually say it and when things will happen before they actually do. One day at the community pool, being “marooned in a day” will feel less alone when he notices Margaret (Kathryn Newton), who surprises Mark with her quick reflex to catch a beach ball that usually knocks a cute girl into the water. Sure enough, Margaret is also caught in the same temporal anomaly with him, but she wants to spend her time fixing something. As they begin spending their infinite do-overs together and goofing off, like driving a steamroller around and crushing trash cans, Mark tries winning her over. They come up with a plan to map out all of the tiny perfect moments around town with the hope that tomorrow will actually be a new day to be seized. 


Written by Lev Grossman and directed by Ian Samuels (2018’s “Sierra Burgess Is a Loser”), “The Map of Tiny Perfect Things” is based on Grossman’s short story, and it has the decency to give credit where credit is due. The film’s characters name-drop “Groundhog Day,” as well as “Edge of Tomorrow,” “Doctor Who,” and “Time Bandits,” and an acknowledgement of that déjà vu goes a long way. Director Samuels also brings some visual flourish and a lively alt-rock soundtrack to the repetition. From the jump, Mark’s forever day is choreographed in Rube Goldberg-ian fashion with an almost-balletic flair by a long-limbed Kyle Allen (2017’s “XX”). (That Allen was cast as a Jet in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming “West Side Story” makes total sense.) Like clockwork, Mark rides into town, assisting passers-by, using a truck for a lift, and later jumping through his best friend’s window to land on a couch like a parkour expert. 


Kyle Allen is quick-witted and charismatic, while sidestepping smugness, as Mark. He wants to be a better person with more of an interest in other people’s lives, like stopping to learn why his mother leaves every morning before Mark wakes up. That evolution toward selflessness, of course, gets turned into a romantic gesture by taking Margaret’s love of astrology and staging a space scene in the local high school gym. Kathryn Newton (2020’s “Freaky”) makes Margaret smarter and more self-assured than a prize to be won. Her character's arc is more meaningful, too, and despite it feeling like an outdated bullet on a YA story checklist, there’s a mystery revolving around phone calls Margaret keeps receiving from a handsome doctor that always lead her to getting upset and storming off at 6 p.m. “The Map of Tiny Perfect Things” is a little twee and trite for those who have equally seen YA romances and time-loop stories over and over and over again. However, as a showcase for Allen to shine along with already-rising talent Newton, it's a perfectly sweet time-killer.


Grade: C +


Amazon Studios is releasing “The Map of Tiny Perfect Things” (103 min.) on Prime Video February 12, 2021.

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