The Movie Guys: ‘Frequency’ makes fascinating cosmic connection

Friday, April 28, 2000 | 9:46 a.m.

The Movie Guys, starring Jeff Howard and Dave Neil, appears Fridays. They can also be seen on the 11 a.m. Friday newscast on KVVU Channel 5. Plus, check them out online at: www.lasvegassun.com/sun/sunlife/movies and movieguys.com

Grades: Jeff, A; Dave, B

Starring: Dennis Quaid, James Caviezel. Andrea Braugher and Shawn Doyle.

Screenplay: Toby Emmerich.

Director: Gregory Hoblit.

Rated: PG-13 for violence and adult themes.

Running time: 121 minutes.

Playing at: UA Showcase 8, UA Rainbow Promenade 10, Rancho Santa Fe 16, Century Orleans12, Century Desert, Cinedome Henderson, Las Vegas Drive-In, Regal Cinemas Texas Station 18, Regal Cinemas Sunset Station, Regal Cinemas Colonnade 14, Regal Cinemas Village Square 18.

Synopsis: What if you had the chance to travel back in time and change just one event in your life? What would it be? For John Sullivan, there is no question. He would undo the events of October 12, 1969, when the out-of-control Bruxton fire took the life of his father, a heroic firefighter played by Dennis Quaid.

Now Sullivan may get exactly what he has wished for -- and more than he bargained for. One day before the anniversary of his father's death, in the midst of the spectacular aurora borealis, Sullivan discovers, in the house he inherited, his father's old ham radio and begins to play with it. Through the electrical static, he finds himself talking to a man who claims to be a firefighter and who appears to be awaiting the World Series of 1969.

Jeff: "Frequency" has everything in a film that you could desire. It has love and suspense, an intriguing plot, a healthy dose of science fiction, but above all, it has heart. This is one of my favorite films this year. First, the premise is mesmerizing and original, based on the notion that a son can speak to his father on a ham radio, 30 years into the past. Sounds like the plot of almost every "Star Trek" episode. (No, not time travel again!)

Sullivan, a New York homicide detective, speaks to his father from the past and quickly learns that he changes history and the future with every word he utters. You can imagine the problems of that scenario, but the film quickly moves beyond its quick lessons in quantum mechanics to become an exciting thriller. The father-and-son team of past and present must solve the crimes of a serial killer who is stalking the streets of New York in both times. The time rift provides ever-changing situations as each conversation changes the past and present. This movie is fun and exciting from the first frame to the last.

Dave: There is no arguing with you, Jeff, that this imaginative sci-fi thriller plays more on your emotions rather than explaining any scientific theories behind time travel plausibility. A lot of that has to do with the Miracle Mets of 1969 when the underdog National League team played to the classic Cinderella story by capturing the World Series.

As the model image of a father and son bonding through America's pastime, "Frequency" builds its dramatic heart around that very notion. Wasting no time the film cuts between past and present, revealing John's ("The Thin Red Line's" Jim Caviezel) dispirited lifestyle in 1999 and his lively childhood with his loving parents in 1969. As a grown-up, John is unhappy in his job, failing relationship and the distant memory of his father's death. As he communicates with his firefighter dad Frank (Quaid), the events and memories in his life change as soon as he warns his father that he is to die in the line of duty the next day.

Jeff: The immortal question is: Given the chance, should you change history to save the father you hardly knew? John isn't aware of the consequences of his actions. All he wants is his father back, in any shape or form. Quaid is the all-American father figure, a role that he seems right at home with.

"Frequency" often has you thinking about your own childhood, the simpler times, then switches gears quickly as the elusive serial killer has now targeted John's mother. The clock is ticking. "Frequency" mirrors the dream sequence of George Baily in "It's a Wonderful Life" as John's interactions with the past are changing his future.

All his family, friends and co-workers are vanishing and alternating. He is constantly struggling with himself. Did he imagine his past? He has the memory of a milestone, but the memory wasn't there an hour ago. What did he do to change the past and how can he correct it? The answers are half the fun.

Dave: Filmmaker Gregory Hoblit ("Primal Fear") takes an intricate plot (provided by rookie scribe Toby Emmerich) and finds a gripping human drama. His subtle direction makes the film's time line between past and present seem, well, timeless.

As for Jeff, I know he was captured by the sincere charm and thrilling excitement as the movie shifted from a fantasy reunion to a mysterious thriller. I found that sort of drama second only to the film's relation with baseball, tied to a father and son as the pinnacle element behind "Frequency."

However, if you think too long about the complexity of a parallel universe, you'll end up cross-eyed, as Austin Powers did when attempting to grasp time travel in "Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me." But as Austin's superior Basil Exposition suggests, "Don't worry about this sort of thing and just enjoy yourself." That goes for you, too!