A curious ad in the personal section of a local newspaper spurs three magazine staffers to investigate the man who placed it. Jeff (Jake Johnson) is the writer who proposes checking into the ad as a potential humor piece. He brings along Darius (Aubrey Plaza) and Arnau (Karan Soni), two interns that he can push the workload onto, while he uses the trip to reconnect with an old girlfriend. With little difficulty, the two interns track down Kenneth (Mark Duplass), a damaged, but likable supermarket employee who is looking for a companion to travel back in time with.
Nothing works out the way each character expects and what begins as a funny, little human-interest story turns out to have a significant impact on all their lives. Darius poses as a candidate for Kenneth's time-traveling adventure in order to get Jeff the story, but what should be easy to dismiss as crazy is not, and Kenneth begins to win her over. Aubrey Plaza and Mark Duplass aren't your typical romantic comedy pairing, but that helps lend itself to the underdog quality of the film.
Combining elements from many genres -- science fiction, drama, comedy, romance, paranoid conspiracy thriller -- with an off-beat indie sensibility, this is a nice debut feature from director Colin Trevorrow and writer Derek Connolly that keeps you guessing until the very end. Plaza, Duplass, and Johnson are terrific -- all finding the humor, the heartbreak, and the humanity in these characters, who are all heavily shaped by regret. I especially like that Jeff and Kenneth are two sides of the same coin, both longing for a second chance at happiness -- desperately looking to the past as a way to change their future.
Funny, charming, even suspenseful at times, Safety Not Guaranteed reminds us that there are no sure bets in life, love, or time travel.
"Setting the Frame" Film Grade = B+
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