Safety Not Guaranteed

2012 romantic time-travel comedy

Rating: 15/20 (Jen: 15/20)

Plot: A magazine investigates a weirdo who places a classified ad looking for a time-traveling companion.

I am still laughing at a scene with an ear, probably my favorite ear scene in any movie ever. I thought this was a very cute and offbeat little romantic comedy. There's some ambivalence that will befuddle some, but I really liked it. Aubrey Plaza from Parks and Recreation and Mark Duplass from various things Mark Duplass has done are not your typical leading people for a romantic comedy, and for whatever reason, I think that makes it work better. Karan Soni nearly steals the show as nerdy Indian guy Arnau. The film works well as a clumsy metaphor for love although the more you think about that, the more it falls to pieces. Worth checking out if you normally like comedies that I normally like. Inspired by a real 1997 classified advertisement that turned out to not be real at all.

Best line: "Was there something wrong with Einstein or David Bowie?"

2 comments:

cory said...

This movie just drew me in. I enjoyed their offbeat relationship, and not knowing whether he was crazy or not. The acting doesn't always ring true, but I liked the characters and the ending a lot. Also a 15.

Shane said...

The "drew me in" is a good way to put it. There was a lot about this movie that should have annoyed me, but it just worked for some reason.