Peter Kohn

A broad comedy that misses most of the opportunities to be a great time travel story. Time travel fiction requires not only its fantastic premise but a forensic attention to detail to compliment that premise. But Herschel, Rogen’s pickle-brined Eastern European transplant, navigates his New York City of the future with very little surprise, and the film instead focuses on the petty rivalry between him and his 21st century descendant Ben, a struggling app developer. There is little perspective. If Herschel is already a celebrity time traveller, how come he is “discovered” from anonymity as a street-stall entrepreneur? Or maybe I’m just wishing this were a different type of story? Perhaps this is just a very simple fable and we should just kick back with some vodkas, not think too much and enjoy the stereotypes.