Safety Not Guaranteed at Sundance London

Safety Not Guaranteed at Sundance London

28 April, 2012
by: Naima Khan

A disappointingly mediocre take on oddball romance featuring Mark Duplass.

As with many of the most disappointing films out there, the opening scenes of Safety Not Guaranteed tell you pretty much everything you need to know about what follows. The film rests on a miserable magazine intern named Darius (Aubrey Plaza), an eye-liner enthusiast aspiring to a darker version of Ellen Page's Juno and Thora Birch in Ghost World. She's the epitome of the anti-romantic moody hipster and joining her on a cynical assignment is fellow intern Arnau (Karan Soni), a clichéd Asian nerd and Casanova staff reporter Jeff (Jake Johnson). Their mission is to find, stalk and ridicule the somewhat off-kilter Kenneth (Mark Duplass), a man seeking a partner to travel back in time with him.

This collection of characters - save Kenneth - are central to the pointlessness of Safety Not Guaranteed. They are too familiar, too predictable and thought the parts are well-acted, it's difficult to care about any of them. The macho Jeff teaches Arnau how to have confidence and get girls and the quirky Darius meets the even quirkier Keith and finally sees a world where she fits in or something but my god, it's so obvious it's almost painful.

As hours of my life slip away watching Jeff fall for an ex and ultimately learn that he is slightly more vulnerable than he thinks he is – slightly – there's one guy who saves me from eating the press pass that obliges me to stay for the whole thing. Kenneth is the one brilliantly conceived element of this film and the only remotely surprising, or indeed interesting thing about the concept. His persistent delusion is so resolute and he is so aware of his own vulnerability that he manages to charm, amuse and intrigue in equal measure. He is a great metaphor for the regret, hope and risk that fuel the romantic optimism of this film.

But he is overshadowed by the other cut-and-dried characters that clog the story. If you like oddballs hooking up and a very weak element of sci-fi, Safety Not Guaranteed will charm the pants off you. But if you're looking for something original, look elsewhere.

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Naima Khan