Safety Not Guaranteed

My Grade:  A

Ever heard of Colin Trevorrow?  Probably not unless you are a Star Wars fan that has been following all this drama surrounding the candidates to direct Episode 7 under the Disney masthead.  Trevorrow’s name has been tossed around in the mix but it’s pretty certain that he will not be the guy.  Why would this seemingly random director be mentioned for such a high profile film?  Because of his feature debut, Safety Not Guaranteed.

The film is about an intern named Darius (a charming and layered performance from Aubrey Plaza) who goes with her boss, Jeff (Jake Johnson of “New Girl”) and her fellow intern, the shy Arnau (an awkwardly funny turn from Karan Soni) to investigate an intriguing classified ad.  Who wouldn’t want to investigate this ad?

WANTED:  Someone to go back in time with me.  This is not a joke.  You’ll get paid after we get  back.  Must bring your own weapons.  I have only done this once before. Safety not guaranteed.

I’m intrigued... that’s why I wanted to see the film.  And I’m glad I did because it’s a joy.  It has some wonderfully quirky and well-developed characters that all play off each other nicely.  The quirkiest of the bunch is the man who placed the classified ad, Kenneth (Mark Duplass of “The League”).  He plays this role with extreme care, walking the thin line between muted heroism and crippling insecurity to a tee.  He brings a lot of heart to the character and his chemistry with Darius makes this film so much better than many indie films you will see this year.

Apart from the great acting, the story is well done, too.  It’s unlike anything you’ve seen but is easy to connect to.  It even has a few twists thrown in... and they are well-done.  One of the issues I have with this film, however, is how little the A-story (their investigation of Kenneth’s ad) intertwines with and is affected by the B-story.  There are many subplots, but the main B-story (Jeff trying to reconnect with an old flame) is one that almost doesn’t seem to matter apart from helping develop Jeff as a character.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good part of the film and the night that Jeff and Arnau party is great (I’m not going to mention more at risk of spoilers); however, it doesn’t affect the Darius and Kenneth portion of the story much at all.

Apart from that, the only other small issue I can think of that keeps me from giving this film an A+ rather than an A involves the twist... well one of the twists.  Without saying too much and ruining anything, I’ll put it like this:  Kenneth explains something away that Darius believes is a lie and we are left to speculate whether he is really lying or not.  I’ve said too much already...

Overall, Safety Not Guaranteed is a great example of why you should avoid big budget Hollywood movies sometimes if you want a low-key, entertaining, and (most importantly) refreshingly original film.  It also has plenty of laughs and great performances to go around.  So, to close on a cheesy/witty note:  safety may not be guaranteed, but enjoyment is.