The Present is a pretty decent family comedy time loop sci-fi comedy… which is not a string of genres usually put together. It’s about a family where the parents are on the verge of divorce so their three kids have to use a magical time loop clock to repeat the day until they figure out a way to keep them together.

As a time loop movie, it’s decent. Hardly the best in the sub-genre but making it about a simple family dilemma is, at least, unique. The parents are played by Greg Kinnear and Isle Fisher so they bring some charm and humor to the film. The kids are alright though one of them has a kind of iffy gimmick that he can only talk via soundbites of celebrities on his tablet. It’s not the end of the world but I didn’t see the value or humor in it either.

The film is definitely family friendly and contains enough gentle humor and very lite drama to keep me entertained… and kids probably too. I didn’t laugh often or hard but it was charming and good enough for what it was.

Overall, a pretty good entry into the time loop genre… hardly the best but there’s something charming about its small scale and ambition. Call it a starter flick before the little one graduate to Groundhog Dog… or Happy Death Day(!!).

Score: 77