One of Hulu’s most recent movie drops, The Greatest Hits, is an original release for the platform and stars Lucy Boynton, Justin M. Min, and David Corenswet. The story centers around Harriet (Boynton) and her boyfriend, Max (Corenswet), who has passed away before the movie’s start. Min plays David, a potential love interest for Harriet, who can’t seem to reach her as she works through her own grief. The twist — Harriet is able to travel through time whenever she hears a song that reminds her of Max. She uses this ability to try to find a moment in time that will save his life.

While some fans have pointed out in online reviews that this is an eerily similar premise to the 2022 film Press Play, it could be considered a more compelling take than its predecessor. More interestingly is the parallel between Corenswet starring in this somewhat tragic romance involving time travel and Christopher Reeve’s 1980 film Somewhere in Time — which tackles a similar concept. But the two Superman stars aren’t the only similarities between these films released almost 45 years apart.

1980’s Somewhere in Time Stars Christopher Reeve as a Time-Traveling Playwright

• Just like their characters, Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve fell in love in real life on the set of Somewhere in Time.

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When Somewhere in Time was released on October 2, 1980, it was only two years after Reeve successfully starred in the first Superman film. The movie itself is based on a 1975 novel, Bid Time Return, by Richard Matheson. Matheson would also see another one of his books adapted for the screen in 1998. What Dreams May Come, starring Robin Williams and Cuba Gooding Jr., tells the story of a man who dies and then travels to Hell to retrieve his wife — a retelling of the Greek Myth “Orpheus and Eurydice.” Both of Matheson’s metaphysical stories have titles inspired by plays by William Shakespeare. Bid Time Return gets its name from Richard II and What Dreams May Come from Hamlet.

When Somewhere in Time premiered, it wasn’t an immediate success but has since cemented itself in the hearts of audiences. So much so that subsequent editions of Bid Time Return have been published under the movie title. As with any book-to-screen adaptation, there were some changes from the source material. Instead of being a screenwriter recently diagnosed with a brain tumor, Reeve’s character (Richard Collier) is a playwright struggling with writer’s block. In both versions, Richard retreats to an old hotel and resort and becomes obsessed with the photograph of an actress from the early 1900s he sees hanging on the wall there. This begins his attempt to travel back in time to meet her.

During the production of Somewhere in Time, the romance wasn’t just on the screen. Jane Seymour, who started as Edwardian actress Elise McKenna, recently recalled in an interview that she and Reeve developed a deep attraction. Seymour said, “When you see this film, you will see the real thing. But we didn’t let anyone know. So a few of the people who worked on the show kind of sussed it out, but we were as subtle as we could be about it.” The romance never carried on past the movie’s production since it was during this time that Reeve discovered his former girlfriend was pregnant with his child and decided to, once again, invest in that relationship. Seymour went on to say, “We remained really, really close friends, literally until the day he died. I have to believe that I will one day see him somewhere in time.”

Being romances, both Somewhere in Time and The Greatest Hits have received initial criticism for their overt sentimentality. Roger Ebert’s own review of Somewhere in Time stated, “This is the kind of romance so sacred, so serious, so awesome, that you have to lower your voice in the presence of it. Romances like those are boring even to the monstrous egos usually involved in them.” Despite this, the main filming location at The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan, has become a mecca for fans of the film. The Guardian’s Benjamin Lee calledThe Greatest Hits an “often insufferably cutesy romance.” Time will tell if Corenswet’s movie will gain any similar traction to Reeve’s, but the parallels are interesting nonetheless.

Time Traveling in Somewhere in Time and the Greatest Hits Contains a Psychological Element

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Both in Reeve’s and Corenswet’s respective stories, the element of time travel is purely psychological. In Somewhere in Time, Reeve’s “Richard” wills himself back in time through concentration and a belief that he is truly in the year 1912. In The Greatest Hits, Boynton’s character is catapulted to the past, often at inopportune moments, whenever she hears a song that means something to her and her dead boyfriend. Richard, however, has more of an investment in making his time travel happen and there’s a bit more of a pseudo-scientific element to the process. Harriet is the victim of an accidental time traveling ability that’s just sort of explained away as a byproduct of the car accident she was in with Max when he passed.

Other movies have used a psychological element in explaining time travel — though it’s not always the popular choice. Some of the most well-known and well-loved movies, like Back to the Future (1985) or even the recent horror/comedy Totally Killer (2023) starring Kiernan Shipka, employ a time machine. Whereas movies like Jake Gyllenhaal’s Donnie Darko (2001) toy with theories involving wormholes. Both The Butterfly Effect (2004) and About Time (2013) utilize the idea that time travel is possible purely through the power of the mind. Oddly enough, these movies also have heavily sentimental messaging as part of the driving force of the plot.

Similar to Somewhere in Time, The Greatest Hits ends bittersweet. Richard’s ability to remain in the past is firmly dependent on believing he’s in 1912. So, when he pulls a penny from 1979 out of his pocket, he’s immediately transported back to 1980. All of his attempts to return to Elise are unsuccessful. He ceases to eat and dies from self-neglect, only to be seemingly reunited with his love in death by the end of the movie. In The Greatest Hits, Harriet realizes the only way to save Max is to never let herself become involved with him in the past — which allows her to become successful in other ways in the future, both personally and romantically.

Hulu’s The Greatest Hits Has an Almost Identical Premise to the 2022 Film Press Play

• Press Play has a different ending than The Greatest Hits where the characters still somehow wind up together.
• The actor who plays Harrison in Press Play is the real-life son of actor Bull Pullman.

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As viewers have pointed out in their reviews, The Greatest Hits isn’t exactly starting with a totally fresh premise. Press Play also deals with a young woman, Laura (Clara Rugaard), and her boyfriend, Harrison (Lewis Pullman), who is transported to the past via songs on a mixtape her dead boyfriend gave her. Like Harriet, Laura attempts to change the past to where Harrison won’t meet an untimely end. But in Press Play, Laura’s approach is more direct and she and Harrison are working together to make sure his accident never happens. For a reason never actually explained, Harriet never takes this sort of approach with Max, instead trying to indirectly influence him not to take any actions that would lead up to his fatal accident. For the most part, Max seems more disbelieving of Harriet than Harrison of Laura when she even broaches the idea he’ll die.

Despite their twin loglines, Press Play is a slower and more monotonous movie than The Greatest Hits. The former begins in the middle of another one of Harriet’s attempts to travel back in time, and the plot moves forward from that moment — offering the audience glimpses into the past as they serve to move the plot forward. Press Play has a similar beginning but then reverses back to the moment of Harrison and Laura’s first meeting and then spends a huge chunk of time getting to the actual accident. It’s a much more unevenly paced movie. And even chooses a different ending for its heroine. Laura does choose not to be with Harrison in the past — much like Harriet — but she’s still best friends with his sister, and they do meet (again) by the end of the movie. The final scene is a hopeful hint that Laura and Harrison will eventually wind up together in their “fixed” timeline. Not exactly high stakes for such a high concept.

Although audiences have yet to see Corenswet as Superman — James Gunn’s reboot isn’t due for release until 2025 — it’s a curious coincidence that he’s paralleling Reeve’s career in a way. And while other actors who’ve portrayed the Man of Steel have cited Reeve’s version as an inspiration, fans have yet to see if and how Corenswet will channel his predecessor in his own performance. If his current work in film is any indication, he’ll do the role justice either way.

The Greatest Hits is now streaming on Hulu.

The Greatest Hits (2024)

Director

Ned Benson

Release Date

March 14, 2024

Cast

David Corenswet , Lucy Boynton , Retta , Justin H. Min , Rory Keane , Jackson Kelly , Andie Ju , Austin Crute

Writers

Ned Benson

Runtime

87 Minutes

Main Genre

Comedy