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Chaos Theory is told (in one very extended flashback) through the eyes of Frank Allen (the very appealing Ryan Reynolds) as he prepares to walk his daughter down the aisle on her impending wedding day. It seems the groom (Mike Erwin) has discovered some disturbing information about his fiancé and can’t seem to get past the news. Everyone has last minute doubts, right?  It seems he has a choice; either talk to his future father-in-law or …..well, he has no choice. And if there was no talk, there would be no movie. So for the next 90 minutes or so, we’re treated to an extended version of How I Met Your Mother, but with more comedy, a hefty dose of angst and copious amounts of 3 x 5 index cards.

We first meet Frank and Susan (Emily Mortimer, hidden behind a phalanx of bangs) and their small circle of friends (including Stuart Townsend as Buddy) on a memorable New Years’ Eve. Susan proclaims that she will choose a husband from among three male friends based on their nickname for a certain part of the male anatomy. When Buddy’s Master of the Universe title fails to impress her (it impressed the hell out of me!), she falls for Frank and his less witty but more honest and sincere answer.

Fast forward a few years, Frank and Susan have a 7-year-old daughter, Jesse (cutie-pie Matreya Fedor) who Frank treasures as much as the very large clock on the kitchen wall. Frank is the celebrated author of the best seller The Five Minute Efficiency Trainer and his life revolves around timetables and lists. Frank’s dictionary does not contain the word “spontaneous” and absolutely nothing in his life is left to chance. Susan, in a very misguided effort, mistakenly sets the clock back 10 minutes, making him late to his very own efficiency seminar.  This sets off a chain of events which irreparably changes his life. With apologies to Robert Burns, the best laid plans…………

Suitably directed by Marcos Siega (Pretty Persuasion), Chaos Theory was inspired by the unfortunate but true events in the life of screenwriter Daniel Taplitz. According to the press notes, there was a point in his life when he was diagnosed with cancer. Not wanting to write necessarily about that particular aspect of his life, he wrote about what somebody does when they’re metaphorically pushed off a cliff both physically and emotionally.

Chaos Theory hums merrily along with plenty of laughs until we reach that precipice and instead of Frank making lists that include items like, 1. Bring in the laundry 2. Pick up some eggs and milk at the grocery store, we have darker entries like 1. Beg 2. Demand Forgiveness 3. Kill Doctor – just not necessarily in that order.

Living up to his billing as one of People magazine’s “Sexiest Men” of 2007, Siega manages to coax a great performance from Reynolds, especially at the moment he faces some awful truths. There’s also a solid appearance by Sarah Chalke as a seminar attendee and seductress wearing considerably less than what she dons in Scrubs.

So like the scientific theory of chaos where one discovers that in disorder, there is an inherent, but random orderliness, Frank makes a painful but chance discovery where he learns to embrace change and acknowledge forgiveness. Now if he could only help me clean up my desk!

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