WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Adam Project, now available on Netflix.
At a glance, Netflix’s The Adam Project has little in common with the 2004 romantic comedy 13 Going On 30. Whereas the Ryan Reynolds vehicle is an action-packed sci-fi flick with a heavy emphasis on literal time travel, Thirteen Going On 30 is about an entitled teenage girl skipping forward in time to disastrous results. Both films star Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo as an adorable romantic pair, but that isn’t all they have in common. Beneath its intense action and sci-fi gadgetry, The Adam Project is chockfull of heart, exploring themes of love, family and invaluable time.
With its engaging premise, great performances and heart-warming ending, 13 Going On 30 is often regarded by rom-com aficionados as a classic. After an atrocious bullying incident at her 13th birthday party, lead character Jenna wishes to be more like the stunning and sophisticated 30-year-olds in her fashion magazine collection. When she finds herself waking up in this seemingly ideal future, everything has changed. She has a job at her favorite magazine and her once-tormentor is now her best friend, but her once-best friend wants absolutely nothing to do with her. Trapped in this bizarre future, Garner’s character tracks down loveable geek Mattie — played by Mark Ruffalo — to get some answers and finds that in her quest for success and popularity, she became every bit as mean as her former bullies.
Desperate to undo her horrifying transformation, improve her relationships and fix their friendship, Jenna finds herself falling for Mattie and vice versa. Unfortunately, Jenna’s true love has found someone else. Sadly rejecting her, Ruffalo’s Mattie says: “You can’t just turn back time.” Fortunately, a heartbroken Jenna does just that. Having learned her lesson, the protagonist resolves to be a better person, standing up to the lead mean girl and giving Mattie a big kiss.
The Adam Project sees the two actors reunited as a romantic pair. This time, however, Ruffalo’s character, Louis Reed, is largely absent, having died a year and a half prior in a car wreck. While the bulk of the film focuses on the couple’s child, Adam, it’s arguable that Mr. Reed learns a similar lesson to 13 Going on 30‘s Jenna Rink. Having inadvertently invented time travel, Louis is visited by the adult and child versions of his 8-year-old son. A genius, a dad and a workaholic, he quickly surmises that these versions of his son are in terrible pain and that something awful must’ve happened to him.
While he doesn’t care to know the details, Louis reassures both of his sons that he loves them. He takes the day off to prepare his wife, Ellie — played by Garner — a terribly charred version of her favorite Denver omelet and laments about not being present enough for their son. Ellie comforts him, telling him that although he doesn’t spend as much time at home as he’d like, the time he does spend with them is worth all the more. Much like with the actors’ first film together, the lesson is that quantity of time is irrelevant compared to quality of time. Every moment counts, and every free moment should be spent with the ones that count.
To see how Louis’ journey mirrors Jenna’s, The Adam Project is now streaming on Netflix.