3423. Premature (2014)

Starring: John Karna, Katie Findlay, Craig Roberts

Director: Dan Beers

Running Time: 93 mins

Premature is an American film about a high schooler who finds himself reliving the same day over and over again, with each day beginning and ending whenever he ejaculates.

A fun take on the classic Groundhog Day premise, Premature combines goofy and juvenile comedy with sweet and heartwarming emotional depth, and while it’s perhaps not quite the hilarious farce it always aims to be, the film counts on charismatic performances and enjoyably awkward gags to deliver great laughs throughout.

Let’s start with the premise, which is probably one of the better-executed ‘repeating day’ stories. For the most part, Premature may seem like a generic high school movie, but it uses that fantasy premise to great effect, enabling its lead character, played by John Karna, to living out his life as he pleases.

Of course, there’s the same moral depth and fable-esque storytelling that brings the whole thing down to earth in the latter stages, but Premature does a good job at telling a fun story while giving you the chance to sit back and enjoy silly, juvenile gags.

The best thing is that Premature isn’t purely reliant on the central gag of its main character waking up every day with wet underwear, but rather spends a decent amount of time fostering clever running gags that unfold nicely through each iteration of the repeating day.

As a result, the film’s secondary characters, including those played by Craig Roberts, Alan Tudyk, Katie Findlay and more, really do bring a lot to the table here, and the film is ultimately about more than just watching a high schooler live through the same day over and over and over again.

Admittedly, Premature isn’t quite as resonant as Groundhog Day, and although it does have a rather sweet emotional story at its heart, the film never quite manages to upgrade from a seemingly formulaic romance to the captivating likes of Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell in Groundhog Day.

For the most part, however, Premature is a thoroughly entertaining movie with more than enough in the way of humour and fun storytelling to deliver laughs throughout, bolstered by strong performances across the board. So, that’s why I’m giving it a 7.5 overall.