dir. Greg Björkman
Unless they’re willing to put in a lot of thought, research and effort, scriptwriters should generally stay away from time travel. Unfortunately, it does not seem as though the writers of Press Play put in even the barest amount of time, research or effort. Some years after Laura’s boyfriend has died, she finds an old mixtape they made; listening to a particular song takes her back in time to when they first heard the song together, giving Laura a chance to potentially save his life. The time travel stuff unravels extremely quickly – does Laura remember her universe-altering forays or not? Is she jumping universe when she does it? Just how many Lauras are there supposed to be? – but the film also suffers from a tepid love story, and aged tropes like “two-dimensional best friend” and “mystical black advisor”. The film’s overall moral is also very confusing, as it seems the movie is fundamentally saying you truly can change the past, if you just go far back enough. Not a particularly helpful message for those grieving loved ones. There is no good reason whatsoever to bother pressing play on Press Play.
BMDb 