Advertised as a “Classic Cruise Ship Time Travel Assassination Love Story,” Same Boat definitely lives up to this very specific synopsis. As I started watching it, my first note was “SO SILLY!” I found myself really getting into the light romantic comedy…probably because the underlying theme of assassination keeps it a little dark and twisty, which is very much up my alley of humor.
The concept is interesting: “Time traveling assassins have been dispatched throughout history to eliminate individuals who would do damage to the future.” It gives you a second to process this, and then lets you know, “the results have been mixed.” I was hooked. My original concern, that this was going to be either a classic espionage, or a Spy Who Shagged Me type of movie, turned out to be unfounded. Same Boat is a pretty straightforward story that will keep the viewer intrigued and laughing throughout. The film’s antihero James (director Chris Roberti), is the chosen assassin for this cruise ship mission. He is from sometime during the 29th century and has been sent back to 2019 to kill Lilly (Tonya Glanz), a seemingly normal woman who is apparently a future “evil-doer”. His character is a mixed bag. We see him care for his newbie partner Mot (Julia Schonberg), as she is rot with seasickness the majority of the movie, and yet at the same time, show indifference towards killing people upon first meeting. Just the type of humor I enjoy: Dry.
After he warps onto the ship, our main assassin begins to binge on all the cruise amenities, casually conversing with strangers and making drunken “decisions,” like passing out on a deck chair only to be awoken the next morning at 7 am by cruise ship attendees…who, by the way, are hilarious. Carlo (David Carl), a character reminiscent of Napoleon Dynamite, and Katja (Katie Hartman), his sexually suggestive employee, provide a frequent source of comedic support throughout the film as their awkwardly passionate relationship (can we call it that?) evolves.
But back to James. I really liked his character. I found his lines intriguingly funny, like his “Golden Age” references that had me constantly guessing what his future was like. Like, if this is the “golden age of detergent,” how dirty is the future?? As the movie goes on and James runs into newly single Lilly, I felt their interactions were really genuine. Lilly herself is endearing, charming and intelligent, and James falters in his nonchalance under Lilly’s spell. For someone whose main goal is to kill a woman, he spends an awful lot of time being considerate and conversational with her. Where he’s previously been cool and casual in his purpose, we now see him hesitant and stumbling. As they get to know each other, their chemistry is great. I wanted to be the one on that cruise ship bar, drunkenly singing karaoke, eating key lime pie and telling secrets of international waters. I really didn’t want James to have to complete his mission.
Lilly’s ex Rob (Evan Kaufman), in juxtaposition, is a seriously laughable character; so much so, that I found myself in disbelief that charismatic Lilly would ever go for a guy like him in the first place. He’s overly emotional and sappy the entire movie, but he does bring about some funny, and then later, pretty sweet, sentiments during the movie; so, I’ll cut him some slack.
The movie was entertaining and didn’t drag on longer than it needed to, which is something I’m always pleased with. Bizarre moments and weird conversations kept the storyline afloat and the mood light. Supporting characters did a decent job of keeping the plotline rolling while also adding to the playful tone of the movie. Intentional or not, the film technique made me feel like I was actually on a boat at times; and, since I am prone to seasickness, this isn’t an element of the movie that I particularly enjoyed.
The takeaway: “we don’t have to kill people; we can change them through kindness and attention,” throws a general aside at the movie’s morbid underlying premise, as well as at the state of thought in the future; it gets the viewer thinking. It was indeed, very silly; but, Same Boat’s understanding and interesting conceptualization of the rules and purpose of time travel is able to evoke questions within the viewer until the very end.
Same Boat is now streaming on Amazon Prime.