The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (2021)
March 7, 2021 9:11 PM - Subscribe
The film tells the story of quick-witted teen Mark, contentedly living the same day in an endless loop whose world is turned upside-down when he meets mysterious Margaret also stuck in the time loop. - Rotten Tomatoes Official Trailer, streaming on Amazon Prime
Grossman’s script for the most part threads the difficult needle between endearing, casual teen banter and fantastical concept, a pleasing tone heightened by Allen and Newton’s disarming, grounded performances. - The Guardian
This is all fairly predictable in the way so many films aimed at teenage viewers can be, with tons of pop culture references, an emphasis on going out and experiencing the quirky peculiarities of the world, and an insistence that self-improvement is the only way to move past trauma. When Mark and Margaret decide to make a “map of tiny perfect things” that they spot around the town—moments like a child blowing a balloon, an older couple playing cards, or a janitor playing the piano—it’s an opportunity for them to each give a little and take a little. - RogerEbert.com
“Kyle was like, ‘Are you going to tell [Bill Murray] about our movie?’ And I said, ‘I don’t want to be uncool.’ But then, we were on the 15th hole and Jordan [Spieth] brought it up,” Newton tells The Hollywood Reporter. “He asked me what movie I had coming out, and I was like, ‘Well, it’s kind of inspired by the greatest time-loop movie of all time with our Bill Murray right here.’ And Bill was really excited and happy for me. I told him, ‘When you make a movie that great [Groundhog Dog], Hollywood just wants to see it over and over again in a different way.’” - Interview with Katheryn Newton, The Hollywood Reporter
Grossman’s script for the most part threads the difficult needle between endearing, casual teen banter and fantastical concept, a pleasing tone heightened by Allen and Newton’s disarming, grounded performances. - The Guardian
This is all fairly predictable in the way so many films aimed at teenage viewers can be, with tons of pop culture references, an emphasis on going out and experiencing the quirky peculiarities of the world, and an insistence that self-improvement is the only way to move past trauma. When Mark and Margaret decide to make a “map of tiny perfect things” that they spot around the town—moments like a child blowing a balloon, an older couple playing cards, or a janitor playing the piano—it’s an opportunity for them to each give a little and take a little. - RogerEbert.com
“Kyle was like, ‘Are you going to tell [Bill Murray] about our movie?’ And I said, ‘I don’t want to be uncool.’ But then, we were on the 15th hole and Jordan [Spieth] brought it up,” Newton tells The Hollywood Reporter. “He asked me what movie I had coming out, and I was like, ‘Well, it’s kind of inspired by the greatest time-loop movie of all time with our Bill Murray right here.’ And Bill was really excited and happy for me. I told him, ‘When you make a movie that great [Groundhog Dog], Hollywood just wants to see it over and over again in a different way.’” - Interview with Katheryn Newton, The Hollywood Reporter
I will watch any movie with a time loop. In fact, this movie made me decide to start a project where I just watch a bunch of time loop movies and write about them. (I have a spreadsheet and a schedule! I even have a logo!)
I also like what I call, kindly, "YA nonsense" movies. So this ticked a lot of boxes for me.
Yeah, I agree that the "twist" that it was actually Margaret's story was good but also frustrating because Kathryn Newton was so great in the part and I wanted more of her. I spent most of the movie wondering why it wasn't about her. And then ... turns out it was! But we had to spend too much of our time Mark.
There were some really sweet moments and I did like how just kind this was. I mean, I've seen better time loop movies but I still appreciated this one enough.
posted by edencosmic at 12:52 PM on March 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
I also like what I call, kindly, "YA nonsense" movies. So this ticked a lot of boxes for me.
Yeah, I agree that the "twist" that it was actually Margaret's story was good but also frustrating because Kathryn Newton was so great in the part and I wanted more of her. I spent most of the movie wondering why it wasn't about her. And then ... turns out it was! But we had to spend too much of our time Mark.
There were some really sweet moments and I did like how just kind this was. I mean, I've seen better time loop movies but I still appreciated this one enough.
posted by edencosmic at 12:52 PM on March 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
[Groundhog Dog]
Uh, what now?
Lol, didn't even see that. I don't suppose the editor of The Hollywood Reporter needs to check the names of movies they mention.....
posted by Gorgik at 6:48 PM on March 8, 2021
Uh, what now?
Lol, didn't even see that. I don't suppose the editor of The Hollywood Reporter needs to check the names of movies they mention.....
posted by Gorgik at 6:48 PM on March 8, 2021
I would also 100% watch a movie called Groundhog Dog but also, I am super tired of every single time loop movie being compared to Groundhog Day. Sometimes it's justified but often it's just lazy. But I like I said, I have a spreadsheet and a schedule so ...
posted by edencosmic at 6:53 PM on March 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by edencosmic at 6:53 PM on March 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
It was very much a stereotypical teen movie, but had enough good humor to be not bad at all. I'm a sucker for time travel and time loop stuff, but I had a mild inclination to turn it off sometime in the first ten minutes. I'm glad I didn't give even though I'm not a huge fan of the ending. It was a nice journey.
In short, good concept, middling movie overall, but not bad.
posted by wierdo at 2:39 AM on March 11, 2021
In short, good concept, middling movie overall, but not bad.
posted by wierdo at 2:39 AM on March 11, 2021
I have a spreadsheet and a schedule! I even have a logo!
You should consider starting a FanFare Club. I also like time loop movies and would be interested in knowing which other ones are worthwhile.
I just watched this, was really afraid it was going to be "Mark rescues Margaret from her bad relationship with older man" and was o_O and liked this outcome better. I thought the soundtrack was really good, I EEPed when I saw Al Madrigal and I am pretty sure that "eagle" was an osprey and now I need to figure out which library they filmed the library scenes in.
posted by jessamyn at 8:32 PM on April 17, 2021 [2 favorites]
You should consider starting a FanFare Club. I also like time loop movies and would be interested in knowing which other ones are worthwhile.
I just watched this, was really afraid it was going to be "Mark rescues Margaret from her bad relationship with older man" and was o_O and liked this outcome better. I thought the soundtrack was really good, I EEPed when I saw Al Madrigal and I am pretty sure that "eagle" was an osprey and now I need to figure out which library they filmed the library scenes in.
posted by jessamyn at 8:32 PM on April 17, 2021 [2 favorites]
This was enjoyable, if not particularly weighty.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:23 AM on August 4, 2023
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:23 AM on August 4, 2023
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I liked Palm Springs, Edge of Tomorrow and the book Replay more. But I'm a sucker for time-travel and time-loop stories. And for a movie targeted at young adults, I thought both leads did a good job.
posted by Gorgik at 9:23 PM on March 7, 2021