It’s impossible to describe the plot of Frequency without sounding like a raving lunatic, but I’ll do my best. John, played to bewildered perfection by Jim Caviezel, is a cop whose dad — Dennis Quaid, sporting the worst Queens accent of all time — died fighting a fire back in 1969. Thanks to the Aurora Borealis, John is able to warn Dad that he’s going to die. But whoops! By saving his father, John causes his mother’s murder by a serial killer. Together, the duo must solve the case and prevent Mom from getting whacked.
The boys over at Lost would have a few things to say about Frequency’s theories of time-tampering, but its implausibility is what makes this movie perfect. The producers hired a physics consultant — a physics consultant! — presumably to reassure them that the Aurora Borealis really can facilitate trans-time communication (it can’t). Combine the absurdity of the plot with the hammed-up acting and creepy mood music, and the result is one of the best bad movies ever made.
