“Same Boat” Film Review
By: Joseph Perry (Twitter)
Romance and time travel in films is a well-established premise, as evidenced by such offerings as Somewhere in Time (1980) to Back to the Future (1985). Perhaps even more prevalent in science-fiction cinema is the concept of assassins being sent from the future to kill someone; The Terminator (1984) and its sequels are classic examples. Director Chris Roberti’s new feature film Same Boat combines these two ideas and the result is a fun, offbeat science-fiction comedy.
According to the filmmakers, Same Boat was secretly shot on board a cruise ship, which added an extra element of enjoyment to the film for me as I tried to guess which scenes might have been shot clandestinely in guerrilla filmmaking style, and which were probably easier to shoot. The handheld cinematography by Darin Quan is impressive, often placing viewers in intimate quarters with the actors.
Roberti stars as James, a time traveling assassin from the 29th century sent on operations to improve the world for the future. He is on a mission to 2019 with trainee Mot (Julia Schonberg) that takes place on a cruise ship. Their previous mission, which took place a relatively few years earlier, was to eliminate the couple who created reality television. This time, they are out to kill a lawyer who found a legal loophole that allowed large corporations to pollute the world to the brink of disaster.
On that same ship, Lilly (Tonya Glanz of the television series Gotham, Daredevil, and Timeless) breaks up with her boyfriend Rob (Evan Kaufman of the horror movie Page One [2017]) just as the boat sets sail. While Rob becomes depressed and has suicidal thoughts, Lilly plans to make the most of her free future. Meanwhile, Mot gets a bad case of seasickness and James, when not checking in on her and taking care of her, discovers the pleasures of a cruise where everything is free and plentiful, including alcohol and ice cream. As fate would have it, James and Lilly become attracted to each other — and this is when James finds out who his next target is.
Roberti and Glanz make for a charming, star-crossed pair of lovers, and the energy between these two actors is a treat. Schonberg and Kaufman are both terrific in their supporting roles. Roberti directs with verve, and this is doubly impressive when considering that the film was shot in secret. The screenplay by Roberti and Josh Itzkowitz is loaded with quirky humor that ranges from whimsical and smile-inducing to outrageous and causing belly laughs.
Though the time travel element is definitely an important part of Same Boat, this film is not a special-effects–laden sci-fi spectacle; rather, it focuses on the romantic and dramatic quandaries in which its leads and their related characters find themselves, and the humorous results. It is a fun, heartwarming independent film effort full of unique choices and solid performances.
Same Boat, from Dark Star Pictures, is now available On Demand.
Joseph Perry is one of the hosts of When It Was Cool’s exclusive Uphill Both Ways podcast (whenitwascool.com/up-hill-both-ways-podcast/) and Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast (decadesofhorror.com/category/classicera/). He also writes for the film websites Diabolique Magazine (diaboliquemagazine.com), Gruesome Magazine (gruesomemagazine.com), The Scariest Things (scariesthings.com), Ghastly Grinning (ghastlygrinning.com), and Horror Fuel (horrorfuel.com), and film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope (videoscopemag.com) and Drive-In Asylum (etsy.com/shop/GroovyDoom).
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