Timer

What if a clock could count down to the moment you meet your soul mate? In this alternate version of present day Los Angeles, a revolutionary device called the TiMER fulfills this fantasy. For a reasonable installation fee and moderate monthly charges, a TiMER implanted in the wrist will accurately display the numbers of days, hours, minutes and seconds until the wearers date with destiny.

The delightful Emma Caulfield (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) gets free rein to show what an accomplished comedian and actress she is in the unexpectedly charming and engaging Timer. Timer is an independently produced romantic comedy that manages to be both romantic and funny. The premise is intriguing: What if you could be implanted with a countdown timer, showing you exactly how much time there is before you meet your soulmate--and then, when you meet that person, both your and your mate's timers "zero out," beeping rapturously to mark the occasion? The brilliance of how writer-director Jac Schaeffer has presented the idea is that it's not futuristic or science-fiction-y at all--one simply visits a timer store in a mall to be implanted with the device, and it all feels very present-day. Caulfield plays Oona, who's been unlucky in love and not willing to risk any investment "unless you're sure--what's the point?" Her own timer is blank, meaning that her soulmate has not yet had his timer implanted in his wrist. Oona takes boyfriend after boyfriend into the timer shop to be implanted, only to learn that their timers have countdowns--and thus, soulmates who are not Oona. Timer is gentle in its insistence that love will always be about risk and the unknown, even as the coupling scenarios play out throughout. The supporting cast is excellent, including Michelle Borth (The Forgotten), as Oona's randy sister, Steph, whose own timer says she won't meet her soulmate until she's in her 40s--so now is the time to have fun. John Patrick Amedori (Gossip Girl) is Mikey, an appealing younger guy who hopes to persuade Oona to ignore technology in favor of the louder beeping of her own heart. Desmond Harrington (Dexter) is sexy and sly as Dan, and JoBeth Williams plays Oona and Steph's mom with compassion and a cool eye on pairing off her daughters. "Oh, your generation is so lucky," Williams's Marion es. "You don't have to worry about the mess of dating, diseases, the confusion…" Or broken hearts. But as Timer shows so deftly, love, with or without a guarantee, can't be hurried--or forced. The DVD includes bloopers, deleted scenes, and a wonderful making-of feature with great interviews with Schaeffer and the actors. --A.T. Hurley

You have no idea how difficult it is to take a picture of this girl not only with her ears pricked, but without her trademark dog tongue lolling out the side of her mouth. Thus, this darker picture instead of the well-lit pretty images with the stone in the background. Ah well.

Switch in the paddock before the Grade II Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes at Keeneland Racecourse. 10.8.2011