Honey I Rapidly Aged the Baby
Peter Hamilton (Michael A. Goorjian) is a science genius who has made huge strides in rapid-cell growth which makes him highly popular at the university where he works. But Peter refuses to skip any research steps which put him at loggerheads with his bosses at the University who want him to miss out phase 2 and jump to phase 3. But things take a strange turn when he returns to the lab and finds someone has left a newly born baby there. But this baby isn't a normal baby as someone has exposed it to his rapid-cell grown formula and over night the baby grows to a young child which he names Jasmine. But with the grown process not slowing down Peter and his colleague Charlotte (Linda Kash) must rush to find a way to stop the rapid cell growth before Jasmine lives an entire life in a day.
"Life in a Day" made me smile in so many ways starting with a bi-factor as I found reviews praising this made for TV movie from a couple of people who had previously said that all TV movies are a pile of junk. But I smiled because this is such a charming, simple movie which doesn't tax you in the slightest but makes you pay attention as it works its way through this scenario of an innocent child dealing with rapid ageing, with so much to learn and feelings for the scientist trying to save her.
Now rapid ageing isn't anything new, there have been other sci-fi movies which deal with the subject but tend to spread it out over a few days and weeks not putting it into the space of one day. It makes it interesting to see how Peter deals with firstly his relationship with Jasmine as he feels for her in different ways as she rapidly grows in front of him. But we also see how Peter's morals are challenged by the situation when he needs to find a cure for rapid-cell growth before it is too late for Jasmine. This is the heart of the movie but on top of that we have Peter's research partner Mark having injected his pregnant girlfriend with the formula who died during rapid pregnancy and so the police are snooping around.
The thing is that none of this is heavy or new but at the same time not totally dumb just at the right light hearted level so that you can follow, be entertained and never kept waiting for the next moment of gene enhancing drama. And at the centre of this is a surprisingly enjoyable performance from Michael A. Goorjian, geeky but not over the top and surprisingly likeable. But Goorjian is frequently outshone by the series of young girls who play Jasmine through her rapid growth.
What this all boils down to is that "Life in a Day" is nothing new, in fact it is nothing special as it is a variation on a frequently used sci-fi theme combined with a romantic storyline. But it is perfectly paced and is aimed at the right level so that it isn't so geeky that it is unwatchable and not so dumb that it ends up cheesy.
