Rhys Darby Charms in the Undercooked Relax, I’m from the Future
Time travel seems to be the perfect example of imperfect science. By now, we have a general and theoretical idea of how the whole concept works or does not work but, beyond that, your guess is as good as mine. If we ever get there scientifically, the grand question of whether or not it would be ethical to ride that train can be pushed aside to ask…would the time-travel vehicle be a train? Or is it a DeLorean running on garbage? Or perhaps a giant thingamajig in some dude’s garage? Even for this single question, there are more potential answers and none of them are more logical to the casual cinematic audience than another. This puts time-travel movies into a complicated gray area. If they are too silly or unconcerned with the mechanics of time travel, they can be a fun romp that pays no mind to realism or physics. They can also take themselves incredibly seriously and dedicate a good chunk of running time to explaining exactly how well this all works for them in their timeline. But you can’t have it both ways. By turning on the audience’s brain for even a minute, introducing linear logic, the movie opens itself up to questions. If rules are introduced, they should be followed.
With a title like Relax, I’m from the Future, it’s not a spoiler that the film is about time travel. It is also not a spoiler that it sits on the sillier end of the silly-to-serious time travel spectrum. It does get a little wobbly, however, when it tries to be about all of the other things in the middle.
Rhys Darby stars as Casper, the main time traveler hinted at in the film’s title. True to the expectations preceding the lovable and hilarious Kiwi, Darby brings the same aloof charm he wafts in Our Flag Means Death and Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Despite all the criticism in this review (and it is coming), bear in mind that Darby does no wrong and tries his best to sell the hell out of the script and the inconsistently-written Casper.
When Casper first arrives to our time, it is not an easy transition. It is not that he does not understand our language or society, but that he arrives with nothing. No money. No place to sleep. No food to eat. It is a tough entry, but Casper seems chipper enough to try to make it work. He clearly has an affection for the era and wants to experience whatever he can while he is here.