'Safety' a quirky, charming sci-fi rom-com
Everybody needs a partner to travel through time with.
That's the charmingly attractive, eloquently simple premise of "Safety Not Guaranteed," a quirky, low-budget indie romance masquerading as a quirky, low-budget indie science-fiction adventure.
Screenwriter Derek Connolly based his script on a real want ad placed in the survivalist publication Backwoods Home during the 1990s.
It read: "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. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before."
Connolly imagined the ad writer as a sad person who probably had some past mistake he desperately wanted to go back in time and fix. Later, Connolly altered his original male-bonding plot after seeing "Parks and Recreation" star Aubrey Plaza in the comic drama "Funny People."
Now, "Safety Not Guaranteed" - directed by Connolly's longtime writing partner Colin Trevorrow (they met at NYU and interned at "SNL") - follows Plaza's Darius, a sarcastic, disconnected college grad living at home and interning at Seattle magazine while waiting for a real job.
She and her fellow intern Arnau (Karan Soni) get drafted to go along with their skeevy boss Jeff ("New Girl" star Jake Johnson), chasing a flimsy lead to a possible story: the aforementioned want ad.
The trio bounds off to Ocean View, Washington, with only post office box 91 as a clue.
As the reporters stake out the local post office, it becomes apparent that Jeff has an agenda that doesn't involve the time traveler story.
He wants to look up a former girlfriend who lives in the area. He saw her naked in school, he says, and now he wants to see her naked again.
In quick order, the reporters find their man: a frumpy guy named Kenneth (executive producer Mark Duplass), a nerdy, slightly paranoid stocking clerk at a grocery store.
When Jeff bombs out trying to schmooze with Kenneth, Darius goes in and, without revealing her identity or intentions, discovers she's on Kenneth's weird wavelength.
As Kenneth slowly begins to trust Darius and bring her into his world (they jog, shoot and train together for their anticipated time trip), he says they will return to 2001 to stop something from happening to someone he loved. (No plot spoilers here.)
Meanwhile, Jeff's pursuit of his old flame Liz (a charismatic Jenica Bergere) turns out to be much more than a simple subplot: it reflects Kenneth's quest for getting a second chance at love.
Trevorrow employs a deft directorial touch that tweaks our expectations into something fresh and interesting.
Johnson's Jeff could just be a colossal dip, yet he transcends his initial disappointment with Liz's adult appearance by beginning to view her as a whole person.
When Jeff tries to coach the shy and virginal Arnau into communicating with girls, the results are surprisingly sweet, and totally unexpected.
Plaza and Duplass make an odd couple for sure, but that hardly matters in "Safety Not Guaranteed," a big-hearted romance that illustrates the importance of people connecting with each other on spiritual and emotional levels, not the physical as Jeff did.
Here's a tight, intelligent movie that wisely puts its limited finances into a single, well-staged finale that not only testifies to faith, but reminds us that in matters of the heart, safety is never guaranteed.
“Safety Not Guaranteed”
★ ★ ★
Starring: Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Aubrey Plaza, Karan Soni, Jenica Bergere
Directed by: Colin Trevorrow
Other: A Film District release. Rated R for language. 85 minutes