Movie Review: Safety Not Guaranteed
The world of indie films is, in my opinion, a bit over saturated with “offbeat” comedies that, more often than not, tend to be off a couple of beats. They’re populated by forced character quirks and flaws and a bland, snarky, outlook on the world they exist in. Safety Not Guaranteed, stars Mark Duplass as Kenneth, a man who places an ad for a companion to travel back in time with. The ad comes to the attention of a magazine that dispatches three reporters: Aubrey Plaza, Jake Johnson, and Karan Soni to get the scoop.
What ensues is a delightful, hilarious, and occasionally heart-breaking coming of age story. Each character in the movie is locked in a funk, desperate to get out of it, but unsure of how to go about doing so. But then the big question comes in: What if you could go back in time? While not all the characters are interested in the possibility of time travel, the idea of change becomes a driving force, it gives them a mission.
One of the best aspects of the film, and yes there are many good ones, was the dialogue. Like most indie comedies Safety Not Guaranteed has its moments of quick witted and quick delivered bits of sarcasm, but the words were chosen so carefully and used in a context that not only moves the conversations forward, it also brings whole scenes together and making you see and appreciate the little details of the actors mannerisms, as well as the set itself. Consider it this way: the dialogue in this film is much like The Dude’s rug, it really brings the room together.
But, good dialogue is only words on paper without an able cast to deliver them and the ensemble in Safety Not Guaranteed give spectacular performances. While all the actors do a good job of shuffling equal amounts of attention to their companions, the lynch pin holding everything together is Aubrey Plaza. Her portrayal of the regret filled twenty something Darius is awesome, genuine, and surely one that will make her blip much bigger on the Hollywood radar.
Aubrey Plaza in “Safety Not Guaranteed.” © Benjamin Kasulke.
Darius’ partner in time (travel), Kenneth, is very entertaining and the two are good foils for each other, but a lot of times I felt like I was watching Mac from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Quite often Kenneth makes mention of, or performs, poorly executed martial arts moves. However similar, or funny they are, it does little to distract from the fact that Kenneth is an endearing, although odd, character whom we want to see succeed in his mission to travel back in time. Duplass also has the opportunity to show off his musical talents by playing an instrument I’ve never heard of, nor can remember the name of, quite beautifully.
Quite often a ninety minute running time is much more than enough for an indie comedy, and while it suits Safety Not Guaranteed very well, I wish the movie could have been a bit longer. Although I’m not sure if I want this because I felt like a I needed more information or closure to some of the secondary stories, or simply because I didn’t want the movie to end. I’m fairly certain it’s the latter.
