This review contains spoilers. 

Everybody loves a classic time-loop movie. From “Groundhog Day” to the “Happy Death Day” duology, these movies impart a certain magic in being able to go back in time to right your wrongs. “Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice” is an ambitious meld of genres that asks: What would you do if you spontaneously went back in time to fix a giant mistake with no plan?

Through the film’s seamless combination of sci-fi and action tropes, the answer is made clear: make a mistake even bigger than the first one.

“Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice” is an unserious movie deeply committed to nostalgia. With ’80s-era warm lighting and black-and-white flashbacks, it bleeds with passion for classic cinema. It’s obvious that writer and director BenDavid Grabinski wasn’t aiming for awards or starpower, but for a coherent, engaging narrative — and he was successful. Despite its highly stylized cinematography, the film’s tone stays consistent throughout, regardless of its genre-bending nature.

The first half is fast-paced as the audience finds out what’s happening with protagonist Quick Draw Mike (James Marsden), a gangster who’s sick of life and wants out. 

The film opens with inventor Symon (Ben Schwartz) singing “Why Should I Worry” by Billy Joel. Then, with a pan to a now-active time machine, the first glimpse of the movie’s catalyst appears. Unfortunately for Symon, the person using it has a gun. After a sudden, unexpected shoot-out with the mysterious time traveler, which results in Symon’s untimely death, the scene quickly switches to an extravagant party. Attendees celebrate the release of Jimmy Boy (Jimmy Tatro), who faced a six-year prison sentence after a fellow mob member betrayed him. 

Sosa (Keith David), Jimmy’s loving adopted father, warns everyone he’s going to hunt down “the rat” responsible for his son’s imprisonment and kill them at the after-after-after-party. 

Shortly after, Mike escapes the raucous celebration to a hotel with Alice (Eiza González), Nick’s wife, to continue their long-term affair. Mike shares that he’s planning to leave their shady, unnamed organization that Sosa runs. 

But everything changes when Nick, clad in different clothes, knocks on the door and asks Mike to help on one last job before he leaves. Mike, fearing that Nick knows about his affair with Alice, agrees. Prepared with chloroform to commit his final violent act before fleeing with Alice, nobody is more surprised than Mike when he opens the door to see another Nick. After a well-choreographed fight scene that ends with Present Nick being knocked out by Mike, we finally get both Nicks in the same room and an explanation.

Future Nick has come back to prevent Mike from being killed after being framed by Present Nick, who framed Mike as revenge for Mike’s affair with Alice. Six months later, Future Nick found Symon’s time machine and used it to travel back to correct his mistake. But a new problem arises soon after — Present Nick goes on the lam, leaving Mike and Future Nick to protect Alice, find Present Nick and dodge a cannibal assassin sent by Sosa as revenge for locking up Jimmy.

The trend of one man playing two characters, revived by Michael B. Jordan in “Sinners,” continues, and Vince Vaughn executes it perfectly. Future Nick and Present Nick truly appear as different people — they hold themselves differently and represent such deep change that they become distinct. It’s one of Vaughn’s best performances. While Marsden plays his role well, this is really Vaughn’s film.

The cast is electric and able to carry the film’s second-half slowdown with straight-faced humor that feels authentic despite its absurdity. The deadpan delivery is immersive; I fully believe that Sosa is as passionate about which “Gilmore Girls” boyfriend was best suited for Rory as he is about being a single parent. 

Altogether, “Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice” is a fun movie with cult classic potential. The slow-motion effect used throughout is occasionally off-putting, but most of the film’s risky cinematic choices pay off. It’s unapologetic about what it is — an entertaining passion project with a heavy rewatch factor.

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