“Chaos Theory” is a somewhat independent comedy that was released around 2008. I had never heard of it before; I just stumbled across it a while ago while browsing Netflix instant streaming. What intrigued me about the movie (aside from Ryan Reynolds being the star) was the premise alone. A man who likes his life to be very organized and planned has an extremely crazy day after his wife sets his clock ahead 10 minutes. It sounded funny, and after watching the trailer I thought it looked funny. Also, I believe Ryan Reynolds is hilarious.

But is it funny? Yes, but not in the way that the trailers made it seem.

The trailer marketed on the crazy stunts and silly things that happened, and while those moments are there, they are not as plentiful as you’d expect. Instead the movie gets surprisingly dramatic, which is tough to do in a comedy without looking completely insincere. However, the writing of this movie, as well as some great performances by the main actors, manages to pull it off. The main character is likable and relatable which is somewhat unusual for Ryan Reynolds.

The plot of the movie is difficult to describe without giving too much away.  Suffice to say that the single act of setting a clock 10 minutes ahead sets off a chain of events that are both quite humorous and very serious.

Basically, it starts off with strange things happening to him and eventually he has a major revelation about his life that causes him to reevaluate how he lives.

The movie is not focused on the events that happened to him so much as the shocking revelation and its psychological ramifications. This is good because the movie is very short, only about an hour and 20 minutes (that’s basically just 2 episodes of a TV show). Instead of focusing on the crazy things that happen, it focuses on the important things.

I am really glad that this movie does not follow the formula of a generic comedy (especially a Ryan Reynolds comedy) and is capable of taking some interesting and surprising turns.

Normally, I am not a big fan of movies that are both comedies and dramas, but I did enjoy this one. It doesn’t try too hard to be one or the other, but instead is able to do both and do them both really well. It markets itself as a comedy, and it is very funny, but it also has some dramatic moments that work really well.

Altogether it is an entertaining movie and worth seeing at least once. Unfortunately, it is no longer on Netflix instant streaming, but, if you are looking for a cheaper alternative to going to the theater, you can rent it online for very little.