Need a break from the old and tired formulaic "Romantic Comedy," but still want some romance (I did, after seeing both "The Proposal" and "The Ugly Truth")? Here's your movie for the summer! "The Time Traveler's Wife" is a refreshing break from the same-old story with "chick flicks." You know what I'm talking about:

1. Initial conflict (diametrically opposing personalities, job competition/rivalry, etc.).
2. Opposites attract and fall in love.
3. Some hokey off the wall conflict threatens love.
4. Realization of stupidity.
5. Love won back.

But in this movie, it's just a story of two people falling in love. Of course there is a bit of conflict and complications (what human relationship doesn't have those?), but they make sense... given the sci-fi/fantasy time-traveling premise of the movie.

The love story itself, is quite different from the norm (and very paradoxical, time-travel always is). I enjoyed how it showed both sides to the story, the hardship and loneliness of involuntary time-travel on Bana's side, and the difficulty of sudden disappearances of and having to wait for one's lover to return. The acting was very good, and I swore I could actually see Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana falling in love. The wedding scene, and the aftermath of the "cheating" scene, made for smart lighthearted and wholesome comedy.

The only downfall to this movie, and it is a big one, is that like with most book to movie adaptations, it felt like it was rushed and that a lot of pieces were missing. That in turn made it seem "sappy" at times. I would have loved for this to be a mini-series, instead of a sub-two hour movie.

Millefune Rating: B