Safety Not Guaranteed Review

Hey look, another film review from me!  What's that make, like 3 now?  Yup.  Occasionally, I do enjoy taking a break from my long-term relationship with television for a casual one-night stand with a film I never have to worry about again if I don't like it. Luckily, my brief rendezvous with Safety Not Guaranteed was actually quite enjoyable.

I'd seen the film recommended to me by Netflix again and again, but had mostly chosen to ignore it without further consideration. Yes, it had Aubrey Plaza who I love in Parks and Recreation, but it also looked liked standard independent film fare. Many independent films are great, many more are awful, and possibly even more fall into the mediocre range. If this were a mediocre television show, I'd give it a few episodes before deciding one way or another -- mediocre films shouldn't waste my time. Anyway, I took slightly more interest in it after I fell in love with New Girl and Jake Johnson, who co-stars. Even so, it still took high praise from a friend whose recommendations I actually trust for me to finally settle in on my couch, click that Netflix link, and enjoy.

Brief summary taken from IMDB: Three magazine employees head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed a classified ad seeking a companion for time travel. Not an overwhelming premise by any means, and perhaps more than likely to go wrong in the execution, but don't judge a film by its logline alone.

In the first few minutes of the film, I was a little concerned, as it did seem to be falling into the trap of indie films: the flaunting of their indie ways and their quirk to say, look at me, I'm different! But it also had the humor to back it up. I stuck it out, and it really picked up once the three main characters started out on their adventure together. Here's a breakdown of the characters for you to get a better picture of the dynamics at play.

Darius: Maybe it's the fact that her mother was killed years previous, or that she got saddled with a really weird name, but Darius hasn't been happy for a long time. She works at an internship, she studied in college and never went out, she never socializes or smiles or seems to enjoy things. If ever there was someone just going through the motions of a life, it's her.

Arnau:  Arnau is in a similar place as Darius in that he doesn't go out or socialize. He's a nerd focused on goals that involve being a well rounded candidate for jobs, getting a number of degrees, and just falling in line of what people should do without taking in experiences for himself.

Jeff:  Jeff is easily my favorite character -- the film doesn't work without him or Jake Johnson's performance. At first he seems to play the part of a cynic and womanizer. He takes on the story of a "time-traveler looking for a companion" in order to make fun of the person in an article. One of the first things he tells Darius and Arnau is that he slept with their boss. "Douchebag" occasionally seems an appropriate label.  We later discover he actually took the job to hook up with an old flame of his youth, and in this storyline, we eventually see his true colors.

These three take on the story and Darius manages to find her way in with Kenneth, the supposed time traveler looking for a partner for his next adventure. As the two bond, she begins to smile and seems to be taken in by his beliefs -- he wants to go back in time to save his girlfriend, and she reveals that she would like to save her mother from being gunned down. It's this that wins his trust more than anything. Meanwhile, Jeff reconnects with his old flame, and it's then that we see his true nature: Jeff is a romantic at heart; he doesn't just want a fling, he wants a love story. He wants to sweep Liz off her feet and take her back with him to Seattle. But as we soon realize, the love story of this film isn't for him.

The best thing about this film is the realness of the characters. I feel like at one point we've all been Arnau, who doesn't think he can let go, enjoy crazy adventures of his youth, make real friends and find love. And we've all been Darius, feeling out of place. And we've all been Jeff, wanting to believe that there can be more out there besides empty jobs and empty flings.

I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending -- it's definitely the make or break point for most viewers, but even with my own mixed opinions about it, it doesn't change my feelings on the movie as a whole. I do think that this is the story the filmmakers wanted to tell: that if you believe in the impossible, sometimes you can make it real and can make it worthwhile. That's the real theme of this film: make experiences worthy of an adventure, a fairy tale, make it all matter. Because life is only so long.

My biggest complaint is that I wished for one more solid moment of closure between Jeff, Arnau, and Darius at the end. Looks or acknowledgement that the adventure they started with together may be ending, but new ones are just beginning with real friendship between them all. That's okay, though. Imperfection might actually make it better. Just like life, it's messy and crazy and hard, but it is worth trying for, and the movie is similarly worth watching for that reason.