Safety Not Guaranteed (IMDb score: 7.1, Rotten Tomatoes 91%
Fresh)
Director: Colin Trevorrow (Will be
directing the upcoming Jurassic Park IV)
With March Madness and Easter, I
didn’t make it to the cinema this past weekend, but I watched this movie on
Netflix and loved it. I meant to see
this in theaters but I never could, and it is available for streaming on Watch
Instantly now. A QUICK PLOT OVERVIEW: a Seattle magazine writer sees an ad in the
classifieds requesting a partner to travel back in time with him. The writer (Johnson), looking to hook up with
an old classmate, takes along two awkward interns for two purposes: to get the story
and to get wasted. The would-be time traveler
(Duplass) turns out to be completely serious and is gearing up for his grand
voyage, and intern Darius (Aubrey Plaza) becomes entangled in his pursuit. I found that clip hilarious, and if you enjoy it you'll like the movie. (continues after the jump)
Plaza is awesome here, playing a
character who is very emotionally distant from those around her. Her deadpan, dry humor meshed well with
Duplass’ earnest quirkiness and Johnson’s blunt lewd humor. All the characters are flawed and each
experiences some measure of growth along the way. I was surprised at how well the movie
increased the tension and stakes as the plot progressed, and there are some
moments of real suspense and uncertainty.
The ending will surely divide viewers’ opinions but this is one of the
few cases where I didn’t really care. The
journey was so enjoyable that the destination was a minor detail. The beach and forest scenery in rural Washington was beautiful and occasionally majestic; another unexpected element in what I
supposed was a lightweight comedy. With
some sadness I can say that this was the best movie I have seen so far in 2013,
and the short running time (<90 minutes) makes it extremely accessible and
definitely worth a watch.
Grade: A-
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