Plus One is almost a great film, but
there are a few contradictory ideas within the film which destroyed the
illusion for me. Comparisons have been made to Donnie Darko and Primer,
combined with Project X for the
trashier party elements of the storyline, but the difference between this film
and those other two independent time-travel cult films is the way in which the
hold up upon further inspection. Plus One
seems to fall apart in terms of themes and character actions where Donnie Darko and Primer withstand excessive scrutiny that comes with cult status,
but the fact that it had me thinking about it enough to find the tears in the
fabric was impressive in itself.
Set during an
unrealistically over-the-top party held by a teenage college student, an
unexplained phenomenon causes a strange rift in time. Suddenly the events from
earlier in the evening begin to occur, with all new duplicates of everyone
attending the party. This phenomenon remains a mystery for large portion of the
film due to the shifting nature of the party’s events, so that everyone is
outside when their doubles appear in the house. Only three friends who remained
inside are aware of the duplicates, and must decide how to react without
causing panic.
While the creativity of combining a
party film with a science-fiction time travel movie does impress me, I found
that the constant need for excessive skin and abhorrent behavior was ultimately
nothing more than a distraction to prevent audiences from over-thinking the film’s
logic. The combination simply allowed for both to be handicapped rather than
elevating each other to something greater. There is plenty of gratuitous nudity
and trashy teenage behavior, often opting to linger on nubile breasts rather
than contemplate the intricacies of time travel.
The DVD release includes a commentary
track with director Dennis Iliadis and cinematographer Mihai Malaimare, Jr.,
along with a behind-the-scenes featurette for the visual effects and several
interviews with the director. There are also cast auditions, a poster gallery,
trailer gallery and a few deleted scenes.
Entertainment Value:
8/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 5/10
Disc Features: 8/10
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