Underrated Celebrated

In a monthly feature, I re-evaluate those cinematic gems that for one reason or another, financially/ communally/award seasony, did not receive the recognition they deserved….in my humble opinion anyway 

#2 Safety not Guaranteed (2012 Colin Trevorrow)

Personal ads can take many forms from selling a car to looking for true love. However rarely does an ad come along that promises the chance to time travel. What sounds like a concept for a Charlie Kaufman film was an ad that appeared in a 1997 edition of Backwoods Home Magazine as follows

Wanted: Somebody 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. 

 Director Colin Trevorrow takes this short but striking prose, which was actually a joke ad by one of the employees of the Backwood magazine, and runs with it to see the after effects of what this unique classified would bring to those who investigated a surreal scribe, a kind of ‘whodunit’ for the slacker generation.
Mistress of malaise Aubrey Plaza plays Darius, a young yet cynical intern at a Seattle based magazine. After a staff meeting for potential articles, the subject of the bizarre classified ad comes up and she is assigned to cover the story along with her staff writer Jeff (Jake Johnson) who has his own agenda for the trip and Arnau (Karan Soni) a meek intern wanting to experience something out of the ordinary. As they track down the subject of their piece Kenneth (played by the wonderful Mark Duplass), Jeff gets sidetracked by a romantic errand whilst Darius becomes increasingly intrigued by Kenneth and embroiled in his master-plan.

Road trip to the past?

The beauty of Safety not Guaranteed is that it is a film where you genuinely don’t know which way it is going to play out, something that is unique in these jaded film times. Is Kenneth simply a deluded dreamer? Is it easier to assume that this odd loner is on a fool’s errand to be revealed as a misguided fraudster? Or could this man possibly have found a way to cheat the boundaries of time? Mark Duplass plays the character of Kenneth so endearingly that, as the viewer, we want his hair brained scheme to work despite its implausibility and the question mark surrounding his sanity. Duplass’ Kenneth recalls Napoleon Dynamite and Eagle vs Shark’s buffoon Jermaine with their quirky tendencies and social ignorance yet Kenneth elicits warmth from his character, his is neither arrogant nor malicious, he is simply on a quest, to experience more beyond the presented limitations. Plaza, meanwhile is the anchor of the film, her Darius is our journey woman as she is assigned the job of pretending to be interested in time travel to get closer to Kenneth, her initial scepticism begins to melt away and is replaced with a unexpected connection to a man who at once seems crazy but is actually sweet and insightful with an infectious attitude toward belief.

80s meets 90s in the time travel headgear wars

As with any film that carries a theme of time travel, the ideas of rewriting past mistakes crop up, the chance to relive your life and make it better is a wistful temptation. Johnson’s character Jeff uses the assignment to rekindle a high school romance, the lure of a rose tinted view of a past time he believes will save him from the mediocrity of life and give him some validation. Kenneth’s motives meanwhile seem purer and somehow almost more achievable than Jeff’s ill-fated dalliance, he merely wants to make things a little better. And it is then that the film slowly creeps up on you and becomes surprisingly touching and poignant.

 Safety not Guaranteed has a limited release at the cinema but is the kind of film that would flourish on DVD. However the availability in the UK is scarce, which is a shame as it deserves to be accessible for those who like their feel-good films on the eccentric side. There is humour and there is heart to this little oddball movie which should be enjoyed by a wider audience. Make it a mission to source out this gem, so it has a present and is not condemned to a little seen past.