Safety Not Guarenteed (2012)

I agree with Roger Ebert’s assessment that no review of this movie is going  to do it justice.  It is an engaging, ambitious, and thoroughly unique movie that will keep you smiling for days to come.  The story is simple.  A hip Seattle magazine is looking for a story to do, and one of the writers, Jeff,  pitches the idea that they find the writer of an intriguing advertisement that goes something like this:

”WANTED: Someone to go back in time with me.  This is not a joke.  You will get paid after we get back.  Must bring your own weapons.  I have only done this once before.  SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED.”

So it sounds like the lead in for a Judd Apatow comedy, but it is nothing of the sort. This is charming, not silly.  It is intense.  The story gets some traction, and Jeff demands that he gets two interns to go with him—Darius (Aubrey Plaza, from ‘Parks and Recreation’) is an intense and quirky loner and Arnau is a very nerdy  and shy guy with a laptop on his lap at all times.  The group finds Kenneth (Mark Duplass, who carries the show), who placed the ad, and he and Darius begin to plan their time travel.  He is serious, and at first blush he does not seem like a total whack job.  The movie has smart dialogue and nuanced acting, a rare but compelling combination.  The reasons that Darius and Kenneth want to go back in time draw them closer together, and before long it is them against the world.  Very fun movie which leaves open the question of whether or not you can time travel.  Duplass and Plaza are flat out amazing in this--keep an eye on both of them.