In the alternate, present-day reality of Timer, almost half the people in this country have a digital bracelet implanted in their wrists. The device, which looks like a little watch, counts down the minutes until you lay eyes on the soulmate with whom you are destined to spend the rest of your life in harmonious bliss.

The gizmo takes the guesswork out of dating, but there's one catch: If your ideal mate does not yet have a timer, yours remains dark and inactive until the implant is acquired. Thirty-year-old Oona (Emma Caulfield) is concerned because her biological clock is ticking. So she drags every ``virgin wrist'' guy she dates to have the device connected, then -- regardless of whether she liked him -- drops him immediately when her timer stays dormant.

Timer, which opens the 2009 Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival Friday, is an attempt by writer-director Jac Schaeffer to try something a little different with the romantic-comedy genre. The sci-fi-tinged premise brings a fresh set of wrinkles to the familiar scenario of a woman on a quest to find Mr. Right. When Oona generates sparks with a much-younger supermarket cashier (John Patrick Amedori), she's tempted to defy her preordained future and pursue a relationship, even though his timer indicates that he's got four months to go before meeting his perfect mate.

The problem is that after Timer's premise is established, and the characters begin to grow on you, everyone's obsession with the device becomes a distraction -- an obstacle for the protagonists to overcome. Caulfield (best known as Anya in Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Amedori make an appealing, intriguing couple, bringing a nice emotional texture to their relationship. (As an added bonus for Buffy fans, Caulfield has several scenes opposite Kali Rocha, who played the demon Halfrek in several episodes.)

Also memorable is Michelle Borth as Oona's vivacious roommate and step-sister Steph, whose timer states she won't find her ideal man until she's 43, so she's going to sleep around as much as she can until then. The protagonists in Timer are all wrestling with the central question of ``Would you rather know?'' But since the conceit is so preposterous, it becomes an annoyance, intruding on characters endearing enough to merit a gimmick-free movie.

Cast: Emma Caulfield, John Patrick Amedori, Michelle Borth, Desmond Harrington, JoBeth Williams, Kali Rocha.

Writer-director: Jac Schaeffer.

Producers: Jennifer Glynn, Rikki Jarrett, Jac Schaeffer.

Running time: 100 minutes. Vulgar language, sexual situations. Plays at 7:45 p.m. Friday at the Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center. Director Jac Schaeffer and actress Michelle Borth will attend.

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