Tuesday, January 08, 2013

Tuesday's Overlooked Movies: Safety Not Guaranteed



SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED is just the sort of movie this series of blog posts was made for. I'd never heard of it until the science fiction and fantasy website io9 included it on the list of the best SF and fantasy movies of 2012. So I checked it out and think it's an excellent film.

The story concerns a magazine journalist and a couple of interns investigating an oddball guy who claims to have invented a time machine and advertises for a companion to go back in time with him. "Provide your own weapons", the ad says. "Safety not guaranteed." So in order to get the story, the female intern answers the ad.

Well, you can probably guess most of what happens from there, up to and including the ending. But the journey to get there is very entertaining. This is one of those rare comedy/dramas that actually works for me, with some very funny moments and some very touching ones. It's well written and well acted. Most of the cast I'd never heard of, with the exceptions of Jake Johnson, who's great on the TV series NEW GIRL and very good here as the journalist, and Kristen Bell in a very small but pivotal part late in the movie.

I enjoyed SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED, so it gets a strong recommendation from me.

7 comments:

Chris said...

This was one of my favorites as well. The female lead, Aubrey Plaza, is a stand-up comedian and also has a supporting role on about the only TV show I watch, PARKS AND RECREATION. She plays a very similar-type character.

Todd Mason said...

She is the go-to woman for that kind of role. This was, as I've mentioned elsewhere, the best film I saw in a theater last year.

Adventuresfantastic said...

I missed hearing about this one completely. I'll need to track it down.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I really like this one. Perfectly suited to Plaza and I like Duplass a lot.

Todd Mason said...

Aubrey Plaza's old Blogspot blog:
http://aubreyplaza.blogspot.com/

Giddy said...

I love Aubrey as April in Parks and Recreation! I normally hear about non-blockbusters through one of the movie gurus I work with at DISH, so I’m surprised that this is the first I’ve heard of Safety Not Guaranteed. I appreciate the trailer, and I’ve just checked on DISH’s Blockbuster @Home site that the location by my house has a few copies available. I normally swap my discs by mail because it saves me time, but I can definitely dig that I can switch out a disc without any fees on a whim.

Anonymous said...

A movie that gets under your skin. And let's not forget the wonderful soundtrack.Thanks for bringing this fascinating movie to my (our) attention.