Safety Not Guaranteed - A

​Quick Hit: This movie is a funny, beautiful, independent comedy. 

For those of you that don’t know Mark Duplass – what’s wrong with you? Star of Creep and Creep 2, and The League, and also helping run a production company with his brother, Duplass has broken on to the scene as one of my favorite actors to watch. In my humble opinion, he’s not in nearly enough. That’s why Safety Not Guaranteed found its way onto my watch list for this year – well that and it’s about time travel. I mean, who doesn’t love time travel?

There’s really not a good descriptor for this film. It features a mashup of several genres – comedy, romance, science fiction, and action – and does so flawlessly. The basic gist is that three writers (two interns and a staff writer) go to investigate a personal ad where a man is advertising that he has built a time machine before and wants to go back again, but wants a partner. Jeff, the staff writer (played by Jake Johnson), really only wants to go back to bed a former childhood sweetheart. Darius (Aubrey Plaza) is trying to make her mark on the industry. But their experiences with Kenneth (the aforementioned Mark Duplass) change their perspective and ultimately their lives. 

I’m going to start with what I disliked most about this movie – because there is only one thing. Towards the end of the story, I thought that Jeff’s story was a bit mishandled. Jeff and Liz’s story is really, really realistic, because people often idealize the past. I understand not everything has a happy ending, and the scene between the two actors is wonderful. But it does feel rushed, and almost as if there’s no final conclusion to their story.

But that is literally my only critique on this film.

I loved this movie. I loved the idea of it. I loved the execution. The characters were well written, each has their own independent motivation, and there is an economy of characters that is absolutely superb. No one is wasted, which is the mark of a truly talented cast. I haven’t always loved Plaza in everything that I’ve seen her in, but here her distinct brashness mixes perfectly with the outspoken braggadocios personality seen in Duplass’s Kenneth. But there’s a sweetness here that is underlying throughout the whole film. There’s very little that doesn’t mesh – from Jake Johnson’s ridiculing of Arnau, to Kenneth and Darius’s obvious chemistry. There’s even some twists even veteran movie goers don’t see coming.
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I’m not going to go into depth about what happens in the end. I don’t need to, because in the end it doesn’t really matter. All that I do know is that the ending is emphatic, triumphant, and full of glory. I was ecstatic throughout the final scene. It’s something that is full of hope, love, and life, and something we sorely need more of in this conflicted world. The moral here is - if someone offers you the opportunity to go with them back in time - then just do it. Failure or success, you're probably in for a ride. 
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In the end, this film is witty, fun, and tremendously enjoyable. I highly recommend it to all parties. I’m giving the film an “A”.
 
For more on this film, check out IMDB.