The Butterfly Effect

Reviewed by:
Paul Ulane

Ashton Kutcher travels through time to test his dramatic acting chops in The Butterfly Effect, and, well, it turns out he should've stayed in the '70s. Battling the consequences of his disruptive trips back to the future—amputated limbs, a crack-whore girlfriend, Dude, Where's My Car?—Kutcher delivers the type of funny-terrible performance expected. Luckily, he's saved by a demented script that pushes the limits of chaos theory (the flapping of a single butterfly's wing today could cause a tornado a month from now), and the supplements dig deep into its hypothetical origins. "Chaos Theory" explores its validity with physicists, pyschologists, and pyschotherapists, while "The History and Allure of Time Travel" explores Hollywood's obsession with the space-time continuum. The All-Access Pass group of features includes interviews with the writer-director duo who penned the story and the effects team who blew up mailboxes, animals, and teenagers. Finally, the InfiniFilm version lets you branch out during the flick with behind-the-scenes featurettes and delivers more Ashton in all of his pouty glory in deleted/alternate scenes—many of which were understandably deemed too harsh for the general theatergoing public.

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