In my mind, science fiction films have always been synonymous with being horrifying, dark, gory, and depressing. However, my perspective was completely overturned with Time Travel is Dangerous. This film, written by British comedy writers Anna-Elizabeth Shakespeare and Hillary Shakespeare, and directed by Chris Reading, offers a time travel concept that is both humorous and devastatingly THE ORIGINAL FILM THAT IREVERSED.
Time Travel is Dangerous begins in a small London neighborhood called Muswell Hill where our ‘vintage’ protagonists Ruth and Megan (Ruth Syratt and Megan Stevenson) run a shop. It soon becomes apparent that they acquire all their goods by time-traveling into the past. The two don’t know much about the science of the machine, but figure out that it is intended to be dismantled, which they find at the Muswell Hill science club. Since the girls are unable to make rent, they ignore the club’s warning about the machine’s potential dangers, leading them to a spine-tingling laughable spiral.
The part of the film that I enjoyed the most was its unique dry and witty humor mixed with the horrifying concept of time and space travel. The humor was witty and made me laugh countless times throughout the movie. There was this one point where the film took on a mockumentary style, featuring “interviews” with Ruth, Megan, and a variety of other characters. Their excessive dim-wittedness was apparent, but curiously, they managed to escape from perilous situations with the utmost ease. As is the case with other space films and themes, the plot contained clever callbacks to famous space movies, with Interstellar being the first one to come to mind. Megan and Ruth weren’t the only ones in the film, the movie also featured well-known people from the past who have their theories about their disappearance. In my opinion, the unique humor is what made this film stand out as it did an amazing job glossing over a very dire situation.
Yet another thing that grabbed my attention deeply was the skillful acting of the entire cast. I think both Ruth and Megan had great dynamics together as they were very funny, and the additional narration by the astonishing Stephen Fry and the science club further heightened the humor. I was very surprised with the performance of the other cast members, especially Ralph and Peter, played by Brian Bovell and Tony Way respectively. Peter was imbued with the lighter side of the humor as Ralph was supposed to destroy and ended up in space-time. He was supposed to destroy the machine but due to a traumatic experience with space-time, he had to relive his trauma when Megan met the same fate. Bovell still managed to infuse dry humor into Ralph’s character, making him more complex. Unlike Ralph, Peter was only a secondary character and suffered most of the time as the main punch line of the chaos. In fact, with the exception of being made fun of most of the time, he is one of the most helpful characters in many scenes in the film. The way Way performed enabled him to make frightening things appear overly simple, and his self-developed direction with the characters was terrific. High praise to the writers for giving life to each of the characters, they were phenomenal.
Time Travel is Dangerous captures many great moments alongside its funny scenes, but I appreciated the inclusion of real-life struggles as well. For example, Ruth and Megan were in this predicament because they were being threatened with eviction if they didn’t make rent and the only way they knew how to time travel was to make money, which is what led them to time travel. This film also delves into the complexities of trauma and insecurities with so many of the characters which adds depth beyond it being a silly sci-fi comedy. Also, the characters initially for the most part loathed each other but came together in a bond of unity when they worked together to close the wormhole. All in all, Time Travel Is Dangerous has more good than bad to say about the film my only wish is that there was more of it!
Let’s take a step back and appreciate everything that went into making Time Travel is Dangerous, something that made my brain ache trying to comprehend what a real Sci-Fi movie is supposed to be all while laughing along to it. Chris Reading’s direction blended perfectly with the comedy prowess of the Shakespeare Sisters for an experience that was simply the best.
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