MovieChat Forums > Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel (2009) Discussion > Two years as a girlfriend - how does tha...

Two years as a girlfriend - how does that work?

posted 12 years ago by avortac
7 replies | jump to latest

I mean, she tells him that they have been together for two years - isn't that endangering the timeline by giving information about the future into an individual in the past? Also, why would she be just as happy to see his past self and kiss THAT VERSION of him passionately, like it's no biggie, when she should know the dangers of time paradoxes and things of such nature?

Also, if they have been together for two years, and then she's that glad to see him again, then are we to assume that she loses him somehow, or something happens to him, so that she can't be with him anymore, so she goes (at least) two years into the past?

Wouldn't that cause enormous problems anyway? I mean, if that's how they got together.. that can't be the way they got together, because at that point she has already been with him for two years, but he hasn't - they are not in sync! If they NOW spend two more years together, it would be FOUR years for her, and two years ONLY for him! So .. how do they originally get together?

How can she later get together with him for the first time, so they can be then together for two years, BEFORE she kisses him for the first time (chronologically speaking) near the end of the movie? I mean, if she meets his FUTURE self, surely he already knows about all that, and that they have already kissed - but .. when was HER first time of kissing him? I mean, obviously, she kissed his future self somewhere before she appeared from the portal, and the kiss we see, could be counted in tens of thousandths. But ironically, her first time kissing him, would NOT be his first time kissing her.. aargh!

HOW DOES THIS WORK?

I mean, for a FAQ, nothing much is explained!

[–] briggerz 11 years ago

It wouldn't endanger the timeline because she's not from his future, she's from a parallel universe.

[–] avortac 11 years ago

"It wouldn't endanger the timeline because she's not from his future, she's from a parallel universe."

A good point, I guess.

Maybe the parallel version of her doesn't understand yet about the chaos theory and all. So it's not really the same him, either, so they have not really been together for two years, and some of my questions still apply.

But why does she then come to that exact Universe, and why would she know exactly what happened?

Is it that the pouring the beer all over the paper actually created all those parallel universes, that otherwise wouldn't have existed?

So, in a parallel universe, what happens is..

She comes back in time to meet him, (because she's so in love with the clueless, no-status nerd, that's supposedly famous in the future, but NOT ANYMORE, so how does she even know aboout him, even in a parallel universe - or especially, because they can't logically be famous in -any- universe now that the paper is destroyed, IF the paper-being-destroyed actually created the parallel universes, that is? Or is there another reason?) and no one objects to her disturbing the history for 'personal reasons' and bringing into the future a guy from the past just because she likes him (why would she? That's not the kind of guy women have sex with in the real world, unless they have status, and that guy certainly didn't, after the paper was destroyed - these movie character chicks are sure different)?

So after she comes back and takes him back to the future (btw, the 'Back to the Future' line didn't really work in the context - why would she call him 'future boy', when he's clearly a 'past boy' in the situation?), they become a couple and have lots and lots of sex.

Then something happens (why would the problems take two years to happen anyway, wouldn't they happen right away when the paper is destroyed?), that causes her to lose him, and simultaneously being assigned to a task of bringing him back to the future from another, parallel Universe (because surely THAT won't mess up things), so they can somehow together fix it, because the trained timelords (or whatever they are supposed to be) of course can't fix these things without the help of untrained nerds, who are in bad physical shape..

So where is -this- timeline's version of Anna Faris' character? Did she go to another parallel Universe?

I think this is one of those things that more you think about it, more messy it gets.

[–] Caboom 11 years ago

the clueless, no-status nerd, that's supposedly famous in the future, but NOT ANYMORE, so how does she even know aboout him, even in a parallel universe - or especially, because they can't logically be famous in -any- universe now that the paper is destroyed

In the beginning of the movie, she says "I guess from your perspective, those books haven't been written yet". So he wasn't going to become famous for that piece of paper, he was going to become famous for writing books (presumably about time traveling). And she never said his two friends would be famous as well.

It seemed to me that after they went through the time leak, things changed and they were about to become famous for that piece of paper. But that seemed to happen only if they would be killed. Otherwise there wouldn't be a painting of them in those exact clothes with the piece of paper in the future.

[–] avortac 10 years ago

"
In the beginning of the movie, she says "I guess from your perspective, those books haven't been written yet". So he wasn't going to become famous for that piece of paper, he was going to become famous for writing books (presumably about time traveling). And she never said his two friends would be famous as well.

It seemed to me that after they went through the time leak, things changed and they were about to become famous for that piece of paper. But that seemed to happen only if they would be killed. Otherwise there wouldn't be a painting of them in those exact clothes with the piece of paper in the future"

Hm, you replied to a sidenote, instead of the main point, so all my questions are still valid.

Besides, your explanation, as good as it is, leaves more questions to be answered. How and/or why would them traveling make them famous, when otherwise, they wouldn't have? I mean, they don't really learn anything they hadn't theorisized already, at least about time travel.

I thought those books got written because he was famous - it's hard to get books published, if you are a nobody, but easy, if you are a celebrity. So he first got famous because of the paper - the paper was what opened the gateway to everything (and thus, it getting destroyed, also messed up everything), them being famous and all.

But if they only became famous because they were killed, then why would the editors come from the future to eliminate them before their quality declined? I mean, if you are right, there never WAS any quality to decline, because everyone would be dead after becoming posthumously famous.

Then again, why would dead people become famous, and be painted in the exact clothes they were fearing, unless at least a photo was taken of them wearing those clothes (I can't remember whether something like this occurred, though)?

As with almost all time travel movies, the more one thinks about the plot and 'how does that work, exactly', or 'how did that happen, really', the more messed up everything gets. With each explanation, there are more questions that can't be plausible answered, or contradict the explanation in some way.

I just think this movie could have been written a little bit better, made to be a bit more interesting and more grand, something could actually have happened, instead of just 'run around in a sandbox for an hour and a half and then imply that the whole Universe got messed up'.

The Terminator (1984), for example, had a more coherent and interesting plot, where interesting things actually happened, and yet the time travel explanation was still pretty tight and nice..

(the predestination paradox always works nicely, except for the 'information about the future' bit - I mean, why would Sarah Connor name her kid John just because some bum that gives her vajayjay-tingles, says so? What'd be the harm in naming him something else, just to test fate? Sure, it'd break the predestination paradox, but at least it'd be a less robotic things to do.. ironically)

..but this is still an entertaining movie. If it had taken itself and its questions and suggestions a little more seriously, we could have seen a less gloomy, grand future, and more epic events. Now it feels a bit like having been cheated by the movie experience - the viewer didn't get his money's worth with this one.

Though this movie is still about 870 000 times better than 'Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie'.

I am probably going to watch THIS movie many times. I can't see myself ever doing the same with the AVGNTM, except to remind myself how bad it was. This movie is at least entertaining.

[–] Caboom 10 years ago

Then again, why would dead people become famous, and be painted in the exact clothes they were fearing, unless at least a photo was taken of them wearing those clothes (I can't remember whether something like this occurred, though)?

There would probably be crime scene photos and such, making a later painting possible. And somebody writing down something "profound" just before being killed in a massacre could easily make someone famous.

Besides, your explanation, as good as it is, leaves more questions to be answered. How and/or why would them traveling make them famous, when otherwise, they wouldn't have? I mean, they don't really learn anything they hadn't theorisized already, at least about time travel.

If I remember correctly (it's been a few months since I saw the movie), my thought was that the time leak changed what was about to happen. They had written the paper before the time leak, so the leak didn't really help them get famous in giving them extra knowledge or anything, it just changed the course of events. As to why it did, who knows. I suppose when you travel in and out of the past and the future, things don't always stay the same?

I thought those books got written because he was famous - it's hard to get books published, if you are a nobody, but easy, if you are a celebrity. So he first got famous because of the paper - the paper was what opened the gateway to everything (and thus, it getting destroyed, also messed up everything), them being famous and all.

But if they only became famous because they were killed, then why would the editors come from the future to eliminate them before their quality declined? I mean, if you are right, there never WAS any quality to decline, because everyone would be dead after becoming posthumously famous.

I don't know, it seemed unlikely to me they would get famous for a piece of paper, if it wasn't connected to the massacre. Also, I didn't think the girl would reference his time traveling books, if he was famous for something else, like the paper. She made it sound like he was famous exactly for those books. What didn't occur to me at the time, is that her work is about time travel, so she certainly could be referencing books he wrote, even if he was originally famous for something else.

So perhaps you're right. Logically speaking you certainly have a point, if they weren't about to become famous for the paper without the massacre, nobody would know about them in the future, and there would be no need to go back in time to stop the decline in quality.

[–] jasonpatrickphipps 10 years ago

I know the thing is based on "time travel", but it seems like everything that is going on is based on parallel universes.... Which ended up being what the ultimate destination of the plot... curious, hmmm?

[–] king_of_bob 10 years ago

Two years as a girlfriend - how does that work?

Two years from Cassie's perspective. Did you forget that this is a time travel movie?

I mean, she tells him that they have been together for two years - isn't that endangering the timeline by giving information about the future into an individual in the past?

How exactly do you think that information is going to affect the past? Think about Cassie making fun of Ray earlier when he asked if her interference in the past is going to destroy causality. Oh no, now he knows they'll be a couple. I guess the universe falls apart now, right? No.

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