THE MAP OF TINY PERFECT THINGS MOVIE
THE MAP OF TINY PERFECT THINGS PLUS

The camera alongside with him as he slides through the neighborhood with the dexterity of a dancer in вЂњLa La LandвЂќ (not for nothing is the spindly actor next set to appear in Steven SpielbergвЂ™s вЂњWest Side StoryвЂќ). The opening passage kicks things off with time-loop montage: Mark wakes up to another drab variation on the same morning, shrugs off his nagging dad (Josh Hamilton, in a watered-down variation of his вЂњEighth GradeвЂќ turn) and smarmy younger sister (Cleo Fraser), then speeds through the day anticipating the movements of people around the neighborhood.

THE MAP OF TINY PERFECT THINGS MOVIE

Grossman and director Ian Samuels (вЂњSierra Burgess Is a LoserвЂќ) take an earnest approach to the ambivalent cycle that Mark has been enduring long before the movie starts. But while вЂњPalm SpringsвЂќ took a vulgar detour into the nature of monogamy, вЂњThe Map of Tiny Perfect ThingsвЂќ lingers in a sunny coming-of-age dance that suffers from a вЂњGroundhog DayвЂќ syndrome of its own.

THE MAP OF TINY PERFECT THINGS PLUS

New Movies: Release Calendar for July 22, Plus Where to Watch the Latest FilmsДЄ History of Unsimulated Sex Scenes in Cannes Films, from 'Mektoub' to 'Antichrist'ДЎ9 Best Erotic Thrillers, from Adrian Lyne to Brian De PalmaДЄbove all, the setup places the movie in the shadow of 2020вЂ™s вЂњPalm Springs,вЂќ itself a quirky two-hander about two people inadvertently trapped together on the same infinite day. 'Thirteen Lives' Review: Ron Howard's No-Frills Cave Rescue Drama Has Too Much Air, Too Little Depth вЂњThe Map of Tiny Perfect ThingsвЂќ folds that same approach into a quirky two-hander about Mark (Kyle Allen) and Margaret (Kathryn Newton), two ambling 17-year-olds who discover theyвЂ™re fated to repeat the same day in their boring little town. Both movies used the time-loop conceit to explore the existential dread of teen life. The movie plays like a hybrid of several recent variations: Like 2017вЂ™s drama вЂњBefore I Fall,вЂќ itвЂ™s a slick YA adaptation (sci-fi writer Lev Grossman wrote the screenplay off his short), it has some tonal similarities to the horror-comedy вЂњHappy Death Day,вЂќ released that same year. The latest to take the rom-com approach, вЂњ The Map of Tiny Perfect Things,вЂќ offers an agreeable kind of breezy, soul-searching variation, but canвЂ™t break free of the overwhelming meta impression that weвЂ™ve seen this all before. Often, the deja vu of watching these movies mimics the predicaments of their characters, even when theyвЂ™re halfway decent. Nearly three decades after Bill Murray got stuck in a time loop until he became a better man, the concept has spawned so many iterations that it basically exists as its own genre, mixed and mashed with other tropes to reanimate a familiar routine.

Another year, another вЂњGroundhog DayвЂќ rip-off.

The map of tiny perfect things