 When an unusual classified ad inspires three cynical Seattle magazine employees to look for the story behind it, they discover a mysterious eccentric named Kenneth, a likable but paranoid supermarket clerk, who believes he's solved the riddle of time travel and intends to depart again soon. Together, they embark on a hilarious, smart, and unexpectedly heartfelt journey that reveals how far believing can take you. Storyline: Darius is a young intern at a Seattle-based magazine and jumps at the chance to investigate the author of a classified ad seeking someone to travel back in time with. Along with Jeff, the staff writer, and Arnau, a fellow intern, the three go on a road trip to a coastal town. While Jeff just wants to chase after his high school crush and Arnau wants some kind of life experience, Darius spends her time with Kenneth, a man who believes that he has built a time machine. The closer they become and the more they understand about each other, the less clear it becomes if Kenneth is just crazy or if he actually is going to successfully travel back in time. Written by napierslogs Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, November 2, 2012 -- I just expect the worst and try not to get my hopes up. It's easy -- and justifiable -- to approach movies with a dismissive attitude these days. Many are predictably similar and to some degree disappointing, big budget behemoths in particular that might dazzle the senses but leave audiences' inner workings craving something with a little more heart and honesty. Film aficionados often turn to smaller, independent sorts of films for a fix of filmmaking with a purpose other than amassing box office returns. Safety Not Guaranteed is one of those little pictures, and it just so happens to be one of the best films of the year, a truly heartwarming movie that's everything the bigger Romantic Comedies and humorous dramas should aspire to duplicate. It's the sort of movie that restores one's hope in the medium as it is across the modern landscape, a small film to be sure but one that's so sincere in purpose and made with an obvious love of craft and story that it rolls over the competition from the size of its heart, not the mass of its budget. Young Darius (Aubrey Plaza) is trying to sort out her life. She lives with her widower father and carries herself with a slightly quirky but genuine demeanor. She's finding trouble landing a job -- she's overqualified for many -- but catches on as an intern at a Seattle magazine publisher. She volunteers to tag along with staff writer Jeff Schwensen (Jake M. Johnson) and fellow intern Arnau (Karan Soni) for a rather unique assignment. The former is a friendly but somewhat lackadaisical young man who would rather use the story as an excuse to catch up with an old girlfriend and sneak in some R&R, while the latter's an introverted Biology student with a big brain but little courage around the ladies. Their mission: to track down the author of a mysterious newspaper ad that calls for a time travel companion. Weapons are a must, the ad states, trust must be above reproach, and most importantly, the respondent's safety will not be guaranteed. Jeff's initial efforts at contact prove fruitless; he retreats with Arnau and leaves the door open for Darius who quickly earns the mystery man's -- whom they learn is a supermarket clerk named Kenneth (Mark Duplass) -- trust. She and Kenneth form a bond that quickly grows into something more, but with Kenneth sensing danger at every turn and nobody but Darius -- unbeknownst to him an undercover reporter -- to trust, he must move quickly if he and his new companion are actually going to make the journey back in time together. Safety not Guaranteed overflows with charm, comes packed with sincerity and heart, and impresses with an array of multifaceted performances that seal the deal. The picture delivers on a unique premise; it's not just a gimmick with a movie wrapped around it but rather a genuinely thoughtful story fleshed out with strong characters and an evident zeal for the material and the filmmaking process-at-large. The story is both clever and clear, both complex and approachable. It's the latter combination that really makes it a success from a structural perspective. The movie incorporates all sorts of quirks and geek speak. None of it alienates the audience but instead warmly wraps them up in the movie's slightly off-kilter but lovable characters and understandable world. Safety Not Guaranteed truly captures the imagination not just for the science fiction time travel aspects but also, and far more importantly, for the innocence and sweetness that abounds throughout the movie and for the good characters and strong relationships that are built within. The movie has surprises around every corner, little ones and big ones both. Not everything is wrapped up with a pretty bow and the movie leaves more questions unanswered than it does ironed out, but the end result is a movie that's thought-provoking and easy-breezy lovable both at once. How's that for a nice combination? For as strongly conceived as all the ideas may be, the execution proves just as critical. Director Colin Trevorrow largely sits back and allows his script and actors to do the work. Aubrey Plaza is excellent as Darius, capturing that perfect and cute little aura of oddity about her that plays wonderfully against Kenneth. The ever-so-slightly forced mannerisms actually improve the character, and as the film goes along and Darius lowers her guard around Kenneth, the little quirks even out and Plaza slips effortlessly into the real Darius, a girl completely comfortable with who she is and, just as important, with who Kenneth is. Plaza and Mark Duplass strike up an instant, recognizable, and approachable chemistry. They work wonderfully together, and the invisible cosmic pull around them is evident in every frame. Duplass handles his complex Kenneth with not only efficiency, but realism. He embraces the oddities, respects the material, and understands the character at an extraordinarily deep level, critical in externally shaping him into a somewhat odd but very much likable yet still mysterious protagonist. He blends lovable, awkward, sincere, mysterious, and maybe even a little dangerous remarkably well, crafting one of the best male Romantic Comedy/Sci-Fi/Drama/Whatever-this-movie-is characters out there. The other leads are quite good, too. Jake Johnson's Jeff and Karan Soni's Arnau are good characters defined by good performances, but they're a little underdeveloped or, perhaps better said, not quite satisfactorily taken to completion. It's the movie's one stumbling block, really, as it doesn't quite seem to know what to do with Jeff and Arnau, whether they're characters meant to fill in some time or characters on whom the picture could have spent a little more time. The smart money is on the latter; Safety Not Guaranteed seems to thrive on its ambiguity in the final act, but it may have benefited from a slightly longer runtime with the goal of completing the Jeff and Arnau stories. As is, however, the movie does work remarkably well as an efficient, funny, sincere, and adorable little picture that's one of 2012's finest. Safety Not Guaranteed is a splendid little movie that lights up the darkened theater with an abundance of charm, heart, and cinematic sincerity. It's built on a wonderful script and great acting, both of which contribute to a movie that makes quirky cool all over again and puts the big boys on notice that it's not what's on the outside but rather the inside that counts. This is one of the year's finest pictures and it's most certainly not to be overlooked. Sony's Blu-ray release of Safety Not Guaranteed features low-end video intermixed with high yield visuals, a solid lossless soundtrack, and too few supplements. Nevertheless, this release comes strongly recommended on the quality of the film. The quirky indie film was inspired by a real life classified ad seeking partners for a time travel expedition. The movie even gets its title from the ad. So where did the ad come from? The ad exploded online in the mid-2000s, gaining popularity on one-time meme-generator YTMND. But it predates that by quite a while; according to John Silveira he placed the ad in 1997, in the classified section of Backwoods Home Magazine. And it was a joke. A meme is "an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture." The word meme is a shortening (modeled on gene) of mimeme (from Ancient Greek, "imitated thing", from mimeisthai, "to imitate", from mimos "mime") Silvieira sometimes helped Backwoods Home Magazine editor Dave Duffy fill in gaps in the magazine's classified section. Silviera would throw in jokes and riddles most of the time. But this one month, for the September/October issue, Duffy came to Silvieira with such a tight deadline the guy didn't have any jokes ready. He asked instead to just place two ads for free. One was a lonely hearts ad - Silviera was looking for a girlfriend. The other was the infamous time travel ad. The ad was drawn from the opening lines of an unfinished novel Silveira had let set in a drawer. The personal, Silveira said, got five responses. The time travel ad got thousands upon thousands. Silveira writes about the responses: What have the people who've responded wanted? Most seemed to have believed the ad. Several hundred, while admitting maybe it was a hoax, hoped it wasn't and wanted to go back in time for the sheer adventure. Though pay was offered, many of those said they'd do it for nothing. (Hell, I would, too.)Some letters came from guys who gave me a list of some pretty sophisticated weapons they could bring along with their credentials: black belts in martial arts, explosives expertise, language skills, etc., along with assurances they can pretty much take care of themselves. I believe ‘em. But many letters came from people who wanted me to correct a past tragedy. Dozens, in prison, asked me to go back in time and talk them out of committing the crime that put them away. Others (and not a few) were from people who begged me to go back and save a loved one from a tragic death. Those letters were so heartbreaking I almost couldn't read them and I felt a certain amount of shame for not anticipating the false hope I placed in so many hearts. Silveira still has the key to the PO box, but he has lost most of the letters he received to mildew. But that's okay - new ones keep coming in. [CSW] -3.7- This charming little independent movie has a fairly original story, with human dimensions, good production values, actors who actually act, some suspense, characters who are revealed to be more interesting as the tale progresses, quite a bit of subtle humor and wit, a bit of chemistry, a plot with; a few nice twists, turns, and surprises, and an ending that doesn't necessarily guarantee a sequel, unless of course, things go according to plan. I thought it was a beautiful little gem of a movie. It is part adventure but all romantic comedy which I usually don't find all that interesting but this was unique enough that I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. It is funny, awkward and beautiful at the same time. The characters are human and flawed and wonderful because of it. The more I think about it, the more I like it, so I say you should take a chance on this one. Cast Notes: Aubrey Plaza (Darius), Lauren Carlos (Young Darius), Basil Harris (Restaurant Manager), Mary Lynn Rajskub (Bridget), Jake Johnson (Jeff), Karan Soni (Arnau), David Schultz (Coworker [as David Leo Schultz]), Jeff Garlin (Mr. Britt), Mark Duplass (Kenneth), William Hall Jr. (Shannon), Alice Hung (Shift Manager), Hassan Cristos Messiah (Boyfriend in car [as Hassan 'Cristos' Massiah]), Keli Schurman-Darby (Girlfriend in car), Jenica Bergere (Liz), Lynn Shelton (Uptight Mom). IMDb Rating (01/16/16): 7.0/10 from 97,157 users IMDb Rating (05/10/13): 7.1/10 from 41,911 users
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