Safety Not Guaranteed: A Sneaky Romance

Once again, I will reiterate that I am not one for movies that are full of sappy feelings. What does that entail? Any movie that involves a vampire romance, anything based on a Nicholas Sparks book, and usually anything with a kissing scene that takes place in the rain (Except for Garden State. That movie is sacred.). I do not like being assaulted by gushy unrealistic feelings.

I don't like to ugly cry, okay...

That being said, I had no idea that I was about to watch a romance when I turned on Safety Not Included. I didn't know it until about an hour through. And it was really nice.

The plot first follows Darius (as played by, my personal favorite, Aubrey Plaza). Darius is a lonely girl who has a somewhat pessimistic view on life. She works at a magazine in Seattle as an intern, where she is stepped on by her boss and largely ignored by her coworkers. But when an opportunity arises for her to get out of town and investigate a story lead with a lead reporter, she seizes it. The story, proposed by a head reporter named Jeff (played by Jake Johnson, my other favorite), is to follow a personal ad that has been placed regarding a man looking for a partner to travel through time with. They hope to get an ironic take on the story and hopefully talk to the guy who assumedly put up the post as a joke.

But the guy, a man named Kenneth (played by Mark Duplass), is no jokester. As Darius poses as the potential partner, they train for the upcoming time travel together. And what initially begins as a totally posed relationship morphs almost imperceptibly as the two of them share their innermost desires for going back in time.

So freakin' cute.

This movie was fantastic. And the things that I loved most about it were its tongue-in-cheek humor and its low-key approach to the over-sapped romance genre. It takes you through a romance almost the way that they seriously happen. Not with a girl that spends $1000 to show up in an airplane on the off-chance that her potential soulmate is leaving at the exact same time. Not with intense conversation followed by mouthy kisses in the rain. And not with a wordy speech about how that person was "right in front of them the whole time only they were too stupid to see it" (seriously, how many movies have used that line??).

Ugh. Enough, please.

This movie takes a very cautious approach to their romance. Actually, you know, I wouldn't even really call it romance, I would call it attraction. You get to see interactions between Darius and Kenneth get more and more personal as they share feelings, spend time together and do really dumb stuff. (In all seriousness, I feel like 75% of a relationship is enjoying dumb things together. Just sayin'.) And yet through that whole time they end up forging a really strong bond, ensuring one another that the other is never being made fun of, is always taken seriously, and is never alone. And that is the core reason why this movie was amazing.

Love them.

Also interesting was Jeff's little side story. While Darius is off doing the grunt work for the story, Jeff is off trying to reconnect with his old high school sweetheart. While in his life he gets a lot of "action," as it were, he unexpectedly falls in love when he discovers who his high school sweetheart has become. Instead of looking for a one-night stand, Jeff ends up getting a glimpse of what he could've had if he had taken life more seriously when he was young.

It involves a better life. And some really amazing-sounding food.

This movie makes a great commentary on the importance of time in relationships; all relationships, really. While Darius and Kenneth want to go back in time to fix the things that rocked their foundations and Jeff wants to relive his youth, both story lines urge the audience not to waste time. That you should take advantage of youth while you have it but also that you should look forward because it won't last forever. That actions and nonactions have effects. And that relationships (and specifically a lack thereof) build who you are.

A really really wonderful movie. A great romance without being over-the-top, and an ending that just might've convinced me that I need to actually buy this movie and watch it several more times.

9 outa 10. Really really spectacular.

Jeff, Who Believes in Signs: An Uplifting Indie Movie What?

When I first got this from my local Redbox the other day, it wasn't really at the top of my list.  I was more excited to see We Need to Talk About Kevin (I was in a crappy mood, shush) and Casa de mi Padre (which I still haven't watched because my remote-less DVD player won't automatically put on subtitles). But having a few hours to kill on Sunday, I turned it on to clean my room and I was so mesmerized that I ended up sitting down and watching the entire thing while my dust bunnies held their breath. What an uplifting movie.

The story starts with Jeff (Jason Segel) talking about one of his favorite movies, Signs, and saying how inspired he is by the fact that the little girl has always had a problem drinking water and that that is what ends up killing the hostile aliens (oops, spoiler alert?). So sets the stage for the rest of the movie, which is balanced between Jeff's almost childlike belief in signs and his pessimistic brother (Ed Helms) Pat's problematic marriage.

"Hey, this is Fate. What's up?"

Thrown together by fate, they spend the day trying to decipher what it is that fate is trying to tell them about their respective lives. A cute side story (which becomes surprisingly more relevant as the film moves along) is also Jeff's mom (Susan Sarandon) Carol's day at the office, which is lightened by the hope of a secret crush.

The camera work in this movie is surprisingly innovative. Instead of dead-pan camera typical to indie films that I've been seeing lately, the camera moves more similarly to reality TV shots, with abrupt zooms and pans aimed at characters' facial expressions and reactions. The camera doesn't stop moving the entire film and it keeps you on your toes.

The real reason to watch this movie, though, is for its resounding theme of hope. In current times where there is so much focus set on getting jobs, making money, paying bills, and societal image as a way of normalcy, Jeff sheds some light on the fact that maybe that's not all there is to it right now. This movie dares you to believe in a higher power, and not just because it's cute, but because it means something. And not in a crazy Jehovah's Witness version of a higher power either, but something without a name, or maybe an old name like "fate" or "destiny" before those words got watered down by bad pop songs.

Ah, or soft porn romance novels...

A really inspirational movie, especially for a generation such as ours that, for the time being, just has to keep on chugging along. This movie's message helps us remember important things that can sometimes get swept aside by the pettier and materialistic things in life. So good job, Ray and Mark Duplass, you created a gem that had me bawling my eyes out with happy tears by the ending. (Seriously, the ending is one of the best that I've seen in a really long time.)