First, the poster touts "From the Producer of "Little Miss Sunshine." It's actually only one of the Producers. The true genius behind the terrific "...Sunshine" is sadly lacking here. This film is the venue of the Duplass brothers of mumblecore fame. (Brother Mark took the lead role.) And mumblecore "Safety Not Guaranteed" is. (One wonders if the Duplass boys will ever move forward.)
One expecting more SciFi adventure finds disappointment in "Safety Not Guaranteed." This is simply an Indie RomCom with a smidge of quirk and a little SF. As a RomCom it's a fairly standard damaged goods story: alienated girl loses her Mother; iconic, self-conscious guy who is either a genius or completely nuts. By end credit's roll we find he may be both. Her motivation for returning to 2001 is to save her Mother. His, we find, is to save a love killed in an auto accident. The revelation his lost love was not killed and lives not too far away (Kristen Bell in a cameo) is a tossed in deceit that's right out of the RomCom play book. But it cheapens the character and story, particularly in the lame way he reacts to being called on it.
These two souls find each other when a lazy journalist undertakes writing a magazine story based on an ad seeking a time travel partner. He takes along, and abuses, two interns: our heroine and a geeky, game-obsessed Indian. The journalist's ulterior motive is to look up a high school flame he's never forgotten. This parallel love story leads nowhere and simply provides balance and further proof safety is not guaranteed in love's arena. Then there's the virgin Indian the Journalist leads to getting laid.
The Indian is a stereotype, and that goes down a little hard. It's certain the character was written with the best comedic intentions but the portrayal veers over the line. And the big de-virginizing is a yawn as seen in every teen comedy featuring a male who must be rescued from his virginity by a more experienced male.
Ms. Plaza does fine, but her snarky edge is off putting. That leaves little empathy for her. She's written to be hollow following her Mother's death, but Ms. Plaza fails to plumb the void she carries within. Mr. Duplass is sufficient. Nothing more, nothing less.
The destination, 2001, is tantalizing. Within that date is a small kernel of a great addition to this lame tale; live in the present. Unfortunately it's unpopped. Conversely, using 2001 is macabre.
The technical execution is muddy, dark, desaturated cinematography and lackadaisical editing. Mumblecore exemplified.
The little charm and few laughs contained in "Safety Not Guaranteed" are greatly overshadowed in a hackneyed plot the filmmakers try to hide under a synthetic blanket of something greater. The film also tries too hard to be hip and only partially succeeds. The result is barely watchable. Queue up if an exercise in Mumblecore 2.0, RomCom is your thing. Otherwise protection of your film viewing sensibilities is not guaranteed.
One expecting more SciFi adventure finds disappointment in "Safety Not Guaranteed." This is simply an Indie RomCom with a smidge of quirk and a little SF. As a RomCom it's a fairly standard damaged goods story: alienated girl loses her Mother; iconic, self-conscious guy who is either a genius or completely nuts. By end credit's roll we find he may be both. Her motivation for returning to 2001 is to save her Mother. His, we find, is to save a love killed in an auto accident. The revelation his lost love was not killed and lives not too far away (Kristen Bell in a cameo) is a tossed in deceit that's right out of the RomCom play book. But it cheapens the character and story, particularly in the lame way he reacts to being called on it.
These two souls find each other when a lazy journalist undertakes writing a magazine story based on an ad seeking a time travel partner. He takes along, and abuses, two interns: our heroine and a geeky, game-obsessed Indian. The journalist's ulterior motive is to look up a high school flame he's never forgotten. This parallel love story leads nowhere and simply provides balance and further proof safety is not guaranteed in love's arena. Then there's the virgin Indian the Journalist leads to getting laid.
The Indian is a stereotype, and that goes down a little hard. It's certain the character was written with the best comedic intentions but the portrayal veers over the line. And the big de-virginizing is a yawn as seen in every teen comedy featuring a male who must be rescued from his virginity by a more experienced male.
Ms. Plaza does fine, but her snarky edge is off putting. That leaves little empathy for her. She's written to be hollow following her Mother's death, but Ms. Plaza fails to plumb the void she carries within. Mr. Duplass is sufficient. Nothing more, nothing less.
The destination, 2001, is tantalizing. Within that date is a small kernel of a great addition to this lame tale; live in the present. Unfortunately it's unpopped. Conversely, using 2001 is macabre.
The technical execution is muddy, dark, desaturated cinematography and lackadaisical editing. Mumblecore exemplified.
The little charm and few laughs contained in "Safety Not Guaranteed" are greatly overshadowed in a hackneyed plot the filmmakers try to hide under a synthetic blanket of something greater. The film also tries too hard to be hip and only partially succeeds. The result is barely watchable. Queue up if an exercise in Mumblecore 2.0, RomCom is your thing. Otherwise protection of your film viewing sensibilities is not guaranteed.