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Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Blu-ray Disc Released: 10/30/2012
All Ratings out of
Movie:
1/2
Video:
1/2
Audio:
Extras:
Review by Mike Long, Posted on 10/19/2012
I hate to simplify things too much (OK, I don't, but what are you going to do about it), but there are basically two kinds of movies -- big movies and little movies. Big movies are loud and flashy, loaded with special effects, action sequences, and big stars. This is typically the kind of movie we see in the summer months. Little movies are much more quiet, focus on the characters and the story, and often cast actors who are familiar faces, but not necessarily Hollywood's A list. This distinction is fairly easy to grasp and I think that most people have seen movies which fit into either category. But, how often are the two categories combined? Safety Not Guaranteed is a movie which manages to be mostly little, but somewhat big at times as well.
Safety Not Guaranteed opens at the office of a magazine in Seattle where the editor (Mary Lynn Rajskub) is berating the staff and demanding new ideas. Jeff (Jake Johnson) raises his hand and states that he would like to follow up on a weird classified ad which he'd found in which the writer claims that they are looking for a partner for time travel. The editor likes the idea and assigns interns Darius (Aubrey Plaza) and Arnau (Karan Soni) to assist. The trio travel to a sleepy seaside town to investigate. They stake out the post office and see that Kenneth (Mark Duplass) comes to check the PO box linked to the ad. They follow him and find that he works in a grocery store. Jeff tries the direct approach with Kenneth, but it doesn't work, as the man comes across as paranoid and defensive. So, Darius approaches him, claiming to have read his ad and volunteering for the job. Kenneth cautiously accepts her and they begin to train for time travel. As Darius gets to know Kenneth, she can't decide just how crazy he really is. Meanwhile, Jeff has come to town looking for an old flame.
As noted above, Safety Not Guaranteed is a genre-blending movie, but it does it all on a very small scale. At its core, this is a slice-of-life movie which takes its time exploring the characters and their particular whims. There's clearly something askew about Kenneth, given his odd behavior, his messy house...oh and the fact that he claims to be able to travel through time. As Darius gets to know him, his demeanor rarely changes and he appears to be deadly serious about things like needing weapons training in order to visit other times. Darius sees the assignment as a boring part of her job at first, but as the layers of Kennth's tale unfold, her guard goes down. We learn that Jeff only took the story in order to travel on his expense account to that town to look up and old girlfriend. Is he simply looking for a hookup or is there more there? Arnau is the most closed off of the group. He takes his studies and his internship very seriously and it's clear that he's never taken time to relax. (In truth, his character is very much a stereotype and one of the few weak links in the movie.) Through dialogue scenes, we get a good look at who these people really are.
But, all of this is set against the backdrop of a time travel/conspiracy story. Again, Kenneth is serious about his belief in time travel. He's also convinced that people are out to get him. He doesn't obtain the parts to his time machine through legal means and he's often very brusque towards others. The movie focuses more on character and dialogue, but there are three action scenes in the film.
So, does this all gel? At first, no. The movie gets off to a pretty rocky start. Again, we get to know these characters as the story progresses, but at the outset, they are difficult to read and not particularly likeable. It's also tough to get a grasp on the story at first. I knew very little about the movie going in, but I'd assumed that it would be more of a "is Kenneth crazy?" kind of thing, but screenwriter Derek Connolly almost makes this a secondary concern, as the movie spends much more time allowing the characters to grow. Therefore, Safety Not Guaranteed is one of those movies that you have to stick with, as the second half is much better than the first. While the first half feels cold, the second becomes much more emotional, and dare I say it, the third act is sweet. I found that the ending tied it all together nicely, but I can see how some would be put off by it.
As the movie is focusing on the characters, the cast is an important part of what is going on here. As a fan of Parks and Recreation, I'm familiar with Aubrey Plaza and her deadpan delivery as April on that show. At first, it appears that Darius is going to be a very similar character, implying that Plaza doesn't have much range. But, as the movie progresses, she begins to open up. She's still not the most demonstrative actress in the world, but she shows the ability to be both apathetic and caring. In a similar manner, Jake Johnson opens the film by portraying Jeff as a jerk, but when the takes Arnau under his wing, the character becomes more likable. The real wildcard here is Mark Duplass. While I'm not a fan of his movies as a writer/director, he's good as Kenneth. Looking like the lost Raimi brother, Duplass brings Kenneth's excitement and insecurity to life.
Safety Not Guaranteed is an odd mixture of indie and mainstream film. The movie has a big plot about time travel and conspiracy theories, but the emphasis is on characters and relationships. In much the way that Kenneth gains Darius' trust, the movie will win you over as the characters gel and the story goes from somewhat mundane to suspenseful. The end result is certainly a quirky movie which I enjoyed, but probably won't watch again any time soon, and yet, I want to know what happens next.
Safety Not Guaranteed gets props for bringing a 280Z to the screen on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 25 Mbps. The image is very sharp and clear, showing no intrusive grain and no defects from the source material. The colors look very good and the image is never overly dark or bright. The movie was shot in a very natural style and some images look like you could walk into them. The depth is very nice and the level of detail is impressive. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 4.0 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. This is a very well-balanced track. As noted above, the movie focuses on dialogue scenes, and these sound very good. The track occasionally provide ambient sounds from the front and rear channels. The audio really comes to life in the finale and shows what this track can do, complete with throbbing bass and detailed surround sound effects.
The Safety Not Guaranteed Blu-ray Disc contains only two extras. "A Movie Making Mission" (15 minutes) contains comments from Director Colin Trevorrow and the primary cast. The actors discuss their characters and touch on how they were cast. (Duplass has some funny comments here.) There are some anecdotes about particular scenes. Finally, there is a look at the production design. "The Ad Behind the Movie" (2 minutes) contains an interview with John Silveria, the man who created the original fake ad. It's an interesting story, but did he say that the ad was originally used in a novel? Why didn't they expound on that?
Review Copyright 2012 by Mike Long