One of the perks of a trip to Europe is that all the summer movies you missed are available as in-flight entertainment. Therefore, this week the blog will cover a bunch of movies I watched on planes, most of which are now available on DVD so you won't have to wait to check them out for yourself.
First up, Safety Not Guaranteed. The movie stars Aubrey Plaza (from the ever-joyful Parks & Recreation), Jake Johnson (from New Girl), and Mark Duplass (one half of the Duplass brothers who wrote and directed the brilliant Jeff, Who Lives At Home). It is a small indie comedy, heavy emphasis on "small" and "indie." Plaza plays Darius Britt, a bored intern at a Seattle magazine who teams up with Jeff Schwensen (Johnson), one of the magazine's writers, to do an investigative piece about a weird classified ad in the newspaper. The ad reads as follows:
"Wanted: Somebody to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You'll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. I have only done this once before. Safety not guaranteed."
Intrigued by this oddball advertisement, Darius, Jeff, and nerdy Indian intern, Arnau (Karan Soni), set off to track down the writer of the ad. He turns out to be Kenneth Calloway (Duplass), a man who works in a grocery store and seems just as weird as his ad would suggest. After Jeff unsuccessfully attempts to interview him, Darius taps into her inner weirdo and establishes a rapport with this paranoid time traveler. Eventually, Kenneth decides that she would be a worthy companion for his time traveling mission. He has no idea Darius works for a newspaper, so Jeff and Arnau have to keep out of the way while Darius worms her way into Kenneth's life and attempts to figure out what is wrong with him. I can't go into much more detail because this is a short movie and anything further would just give the whole thing away. Suffice to say, there are a few amusing sideplots featuring Jeff and Arnau's exploits, a burgeoning love story between Darius and Kenneth, and increasing confusion about whether Kenneth actually is crazy.
Despite the outlandish plot, Safety Not Guaranteed is a very quiet movie. There are some funny moments, some sweet moments, some exciting moments, but mostly it's just a strange 80-minute exercise in storytelling. The tone is vague and unpredictable and I certainly didn't anticipate the final scene. For the most part, you have no idea where this movie is going, and then when you get there, you don't know what to think. Like most indies, the ending is ambiguous and rather unfulfilling, because after devoting so much time to character development, you have no idea what happened to the characters.
This is a so-so movie, neither a masterpiece nor a dud, and in fact, perfect for watching on a plane. Watch it if you need a distraction for an hour and a half, but if you're looking for something genuinely meaningful, look elsewhere.
First up, Safety Not Guaranteed. The movie stars Aubrey Plaza (from the ever-joyful Parks & Recreation), Jake Johnson (from New Girl), and Mark Duplass (one half of the Duplass brothers who wrote and directed the brilliant Jeff, Who Lives At Home). It is a small indie comedy, heavy emphasis on "small" and "indie." Plaza plays Darius Britt, a bored intern at a Seattle magazine who teams up with Jeff Schwensen (Johnson), one of the magazine's writers, to do an investigative piece about a weird classified ad in the newspaper. The ad reads as follows:
"Wanted: Somebody to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You'll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. I have only done this once before. Safety not guaranteed."
Intrigued by this oddball advertisement, Darius, Jeff, and nerdy Indian intern, Arnau (Karan Soni), set off to track down the writer of the ad. He turns out to be Kenneth Calloway (Duplass), a man who works in a grocery store and seems just as weird as his ad would suggest. After Jeff unsuccessfully attempts to interview him, Darius taps into her inner weirdo and establishes a rapport with this paranoid time traveler. Eventually, Kenneth decides that she would be a worthy companion for his time traveling mission. He has no idea Darius works for a newspaper, so Jeff and Arnau have to keep out of the way while Darius worms her way into Kenneth's life and attempts to figure out what is wrong with him. I can't go into much more detail because this is a short movie and anything further would just give the whole thing away. Suffice to say, there are a few amusing sideplots featuring Jeff and Arnau's exploits, a burgeoning love story between Darius and Kenneth, and increasing confusion about whether Kenneth actually is crazy.Despite the outlandish plot, Safety Not Guaranteed is a very quiet movie. There are some funny moments, some sweet moments, some exciting moments, but mostly it's just a strange 80-minute exercise in storytelling. The tone is vague and unpredictable and I certainly didn't anticipate the final scene. For the most part, you have no idea where this movie is going, and then when you get there, you don't know what to think. Like most indies, the ending is ambiguous and rather unfulfilling, because after devoting so much time to character development, you have no idea what happened to the characters.
This is a so-so movie, neither a masterpiece nor a dud, and in fact, perfect for watching on a plane. Watch it if you need a distraction for an hour and a half, but if you're looking for something genuinely meaningful, look elsewhere.
I watched this movie in 2016 only, shame on me for missing it during all these years.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I need to re-watch it, people seem to love it so much more than I did.
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