Aubrey Plaza's Rated R Sci-Fi Comedy Is The Top Secret Time Travel Machine
Written by Robert Scucci | Published
When it comes to time travel movies, I will always strive for low budget, independent movies that focus more on the consequences of the accident than the time travel devices themselves. The same movies The beginning (2004), The Infinite Man (2014), and Time crime (2007) all have almost no budget and very little, if any, special effects, but are so concerned with the human condition that it doesn't matter. Another film I will add to this list is from 2012 Safety Not Guaranteedled by Aubrey Plaza and Mark Duplass.
The film has very little time to move around in it, and instead focuses on ideas of arrested development, dreams deferred, missed connections, and letting go of the past. Through the suffering of its characters, we learn that not everything is as it seems, and that finding the truth requires gaining the trust of another. But at its heart, it tells the story of broken people who do what they think they have to do to fix their lives, which turns out not to be all that in the first place.
The Chase Leads to Crazy City
Safety Not Guaranteed focuses on the headline phrase included in a classified ad written by Kenneth Calloway (Mark Duplass), which says, “Wanted: Someone to go back in time with me. This is not a joke … You will be paid after you return. You must bring your weapons.” Safety is not guaranteed. I've done this once before.”
The reason why Seattle Magazine writer Jeff Schwensen (Jake Johnson) wants to investigate this ad is because it will bring him to the same city as one of his old flames, Liz (Jenica Bergere), who wants to confess her love to him. He goes with Arnau (Karan Soni) and intern Darius Britt (Aubrey Plaza) to find Kenneth and see if he really is, or some kind of nutjob.
Turns out he's a bit of both. Blowing his cover quickly, Jeff retreats to Darius, who gains Kenneth's trust over the next few days as he reveals his mission: to save the life of his girlfriend, who was killed in a car accident ten years ago. Darius reveals that he also wants to save the life of his mother, who died when he was 14 years old.
As Darius and Kenneth open up to each other, discussing past traumas and future ambitions alike, things get complicated when the two undercover agents confront reporters about Kenneth's activities, as they have reason to believe that he has been talking to government officials and stealing special technology to build his travel tools. Although Darius has been honest with Kenneth about everything in his life except how he first met him, now he has to worry about finding out that he is actually a journalist just looking for a bitter story.
Two Broken People Don't Know What Needs Fixing
The reason Safety Not Guaranteed it works so well because of how emotionally liberating Mark Duplass is as Kenneth Calloway. She's definitely off her rock, but when Darius actually talks to her and gets to know her, you can't help but love her sincerity. He's too smart for his own good, an incredibly good marksman, trains in hand-to-hand combat and other survival tactics, and generally acts like a 12-year-old play army in his backyard while doing all of the above.
Aubrey Plaza, who had already achieved an unaffected yet genuinely curious vibe while working on this film, is the perfect person to get Mark to open up, express himself through his art and music, and finally elaborate on the next stages of his mysterious time journey. What you get is two people who have been defeated by the tragedies of the past trying to move on with their lives, realizing that maybe the present is not so bad as long as they are in the right company.
Safety Not Guaranteed it's not slapstick comedy, but it gets its humor from the irony, Napoleon Dynamite kind of uncomfortable. We finally get some time travel action, but this movie wasn't about its final destination. It's about the journey that gets us there.
From this writing, you can broadcast Safety Not Guaranteed free on Tubi.
SAFETY IS NOT GUARANTEED BY THE SCHOOL
