Director: Lorene Scafaria
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Rating: A-
"I promise not to steal anything if you promise not to rape me." "Agreed."
I was pleasantly surprised by this film. I wasn't expecting to dislike it, but I also wasn't expecting to be overly wowed by it - to be honest, I figured it would be a rather mindless, summer romantic comedy that I would forget almost as quickly as I watched it. Having now seen it I can't say for sure how much of my enjoyment was because of my low expectations and how much of it was because of the movie itself, but I was definitely pleasantly surprised and even somewhat wowed. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is a surprisingly touching story, nicely balancing the comedic, dramatic, and romantic elements, without going too far in any one direction or descending into the cheese factor so typically associated with the summer romance.
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World picks up with the announcement that the asteroid Matilda is about to crush into the world, and Dodge (Carrell)'s reacts by climbing out of the car and running away, never to be seen again. Dodge himself takes a lot more time to react to the impending end of the world, for a time even continuing to go about his life. Then he meets his neighbour, Penny (Knightley), who gives him all the mail that she has collected for him over the three years that they had been neighbours, including a letter from his high school girlfriend, Olivia, who professes her love for him. Dodge and Penny reconnect in the middle of a riot, when he saves her, her ex-boyfriend Owen (Adam Brody), and Dodge's dog Sorry. In a moment of desparation, Dodge tells Penny that he knows someone who had a plane and might be able to get her to England, so she can say goodbye to her family before the apocalypse - if she'll help him find Olivia.
I was really surprised by how much I liked both Dodge and Penny. Neither is a particularly successful person, with Dodge being very much the typical Steve Carrell character that seems to have failed to have achieved anything in his life, and Penny being this almost gypsy like character; a hopeless romantic and serial monogamist, who really looks like she would fit well in a rendition of Rent. Despite the fact that neither is exactly successful, nor really strong individuals, they're both strong characters. You really get a strong feel for who both Dodge and Penny are, they both have such strong voices and more to their character. It's very clear that when Scafaria was writing the script she had a strong idea who these people were, what they were motivated by, and why they were the way they are. What's more is that by the end of the film, the viewer has a good idea of this as well.
While the story itself was really strong, I did find that the comedy was a bit hit-or-miss. I really didn't care for Dodge's friends, and found in general when the comedy depended on large groups of people it threatened to cross the line a bit. Some of the jokes ran just a little too long, others could have been avoided entirely - weirdly enough, some of these moments are the ones that made it into the trailer, which in my opinion suggested that the film is rather different from what it actually is. The film can be divided into two parts; pre- and post-riot. The pre-period is the weaker part of the film, with too many additional characters who don't have the strength of the leads, and jokes that just aren't necessary. The post-period is the strength of the film, as the two mains grow. I also really liked how some of the things that I wanted to happen after seeing the trailer happened, although I was rather surprised by the ending.
I was really surprised by how much I liked both Dodge and Penny. Neither is a particularly successful person, with Dodge being very much the typical Steve Carrell character that seems to have failed to have achieved anything in his life, and Penny being this almost gypsy like character; a hopeless romantic and serial monogamist, who really looks like she would fit well in a rendition of Rent. Despite the fact that neither is exactly successful, nor really strong individuals, they're both strong characters. You really get a strong feel for who both Dodge and Penny are, they both have such strong voices and more to their character. It's very clear that when Scafaria was writing the script she had a strong idea who these people were, what they were motivated by, and why they were the way they are. What's more is that by the end of the film, the viewer has a good idea of this as well.
While the story itself was really strong, I did find that the comedy was a bit hit-or-miss. I really didn't care for Dodge's friends, and found in general when the comedy depended on large groups of people it threatened to cross the line a bit. Some of the jokes ran just a little too long, others could have been avoided entirely - weirdly enough, some of these moments are the ones that made it into the trailer, which in my opinion suggested that the film is rather different from what it actually is. The film can be divided into two parts; pre- and post-riot. The pre-period is the weaker part of the film, with too many additional characters who don't have the strength of the leads, and jokes that just aren't necessary. The post-period is the strength of the film, as the two mains grow. I also really liked how some of the things that I wanted to happen after seeing the trailer happened, although I was rather surprised by the ending.
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