Molli and Max in the Future is a very silly, very corny pup sci-fi satire of romantic comedy… and also a very good romantic comedy at that. It absolutely shouldn’t work but by the third act, I was surprisingly engaged in the romantic leads.

The flick is set in the far flung future where a celebrity mecha-fighter meets a Chosen One space witch and become friends, but don’t quite hit if off. A few years later, they meet each other again at a new point in their lives. They talk and argue about love and relationships until they realize they’re fallen for each other… and possibly into a black hole, the Garbage Dimension, or the Quantum Realm.

Yes, this is the pulp sci-fi version of When Harry Met Sally. A lot of it feels like a joke as similar scenes are performed against the craziest CGI sci-fi backdrops and most bizarre off-the-cuff storylines. It’s got an old school 50s Flash Gordon big idea zoom zoom zip zap style full of deliberate clichés and corniness. And it’s a lot of fun.

Every single scene is acted against a green screen. Every. Single. Scene. Behind the actors are a bunch of CGI arenas, space ships, planetary cities, black holes, and who knows what else. None of it looks great… it’s a bit washed out, low budget, low effort and totally part of the charm. They know it’s dodgy and they lean into it.

I don’t know the two leads (though one appears to be channeling Andy Samburg) but Arturo Castro has a supporting role. Castro was just seen as the enthusiastic biker bad guy in the Road House remake. I was happy to see him bring the same level of fun to this flick.

The end credits are played next to behind-the-scenes of their green screen work, bloopers, and alternate takes. It looks like everyone was having fun goofin’ around on this fun little flick. And I think that’s one of the best, most charming things about the move.

I genuinely enjoyed this flick as both a big dopey goof on space opera mixed with a traditional rom-com. It works equally as the just-kidding side-nudge joke and as surprisingly genuine rom-com. Good on them for taking their shot.

Score: 84