Jonny Weston plays David Raskin, a very bright teen whose scientist dad died when he was 7. As his family doesn’t know about it, dad was close to completing a machine for DARPA* that has been hidden in the basement all these years. When Raskin and his sister find a strange home video in the attic*, he soon guesses the nature of the invention and starts working on it along with his tech-savvy* friends.

    They get the thing working when the school’s hot girl, Jessie (Sofia Black-D’Elia), finds out and insists on joining the fun. The friends agree to two rules: They’ll only time-travel together, and they won’t try going back farther than a few weeks — as it would require too much electricity.

    In addition to pulling tricks on those who have bullied* them, the kids help their friend Quinn (Sam Lerner) pass a chemistry test in an over-and-over sequence that is painful instead of funny. They use their gizmo* to win the lottery*, of course, and then to go to Lollapalooza, where they draw a lot of attention, have the time of their lives and almost enjoy some romantic fantasies.

    The film ignores* the fact that the kids get themselves all over Instagram at the music fest, which would blow the whistle* on these time-travel trips.

    Briefly, the movie builds some tension as Raskin tries hard to fix the things he broke while mending* other things in the past. Here, Weston’s likability serves the film well. The film is touching at times, but the end is a surprise.

    Along the way, the film is forced to cheat so much with its obviously self-shot material that one has to ask why the format was chosen. The tale’s end offers the single example in which the video footage serves the plot, but even this development doesn’t require the film itself to be seen through this clumsy* lens.

    (SD-Agencies)