Time After Time (1979)

Writer/director Nicholas Meyer is best known for his contributions to the better Star Trek films of the 1980's, but he was noticed by the Federation due to Time After Time, a quirky romcom in which a time traveling H.G. Wells pursues Jack the Ripper across 1970's San Francisco. Anchored by a cast that includes Malcolm McDowell, David Warner, and Mary Steenburgen, Time After Time charmed audiences and has been spun off in a multitude of ways. Ryan, Cheryl, and (especially) Sylvan were far less charmed by Time After Time; the general consensus among them is that this movie is dated, clumsily edited, and oddly reactionary about the subjects that it claims to be progressive about. Discussion topics for this recording include the fetishization of serial killers, how H.G. Wells' socialist beliefs are addressed in Time After Time's stated text, the storytelling's ambivalent approach to feminism, the sexual tension between the protagonist and the antagonist, and the reason why everyone in this film runs like a Muppet.