Romantic Comedies had a good year in 2012 by pairing them with other genres to put a twist on the romcom. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World combines romcom and disaster movie. Ruby Sparks merges romcoms and fantasy. Safety Not Guaranteed pairs romcoms with science fiction, with mostly good results. While the subplots are mixed, the central story about an ad taken by a man in a newspaper (Kenneth, played by Mark Duplass) and the magazine intern (Darius, played by Aubrey Plaza) that takes him up on his offer is compelling from both the sci-fi and romcom angle. In fact, the title could be an apt warning for your heart.
“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.” This ad sparks the interest of Seattle Magazine writer Jeff (Jake Johnson), not because of the story, but so he can hook up with his old high school fling (Jenica Bergere). To tackle the story he brings two interns Darius (Plaza) and Arnau (Karan Soni). After Jeff fails miserably to woo Kenneth (Duplass) to talk, he sends Darius to try, and she and Kenneth connect instantly. Kenneth invites Darius to join him on his quest, where she learns why he wants to go back and if he is telling the truth.
What Safety Not Guaranteed understands is that its story is built around its characters, not just the premise. Each character comes in as damaged goods due to some past event/behavior pattern. Darius and Kenneth have been hurt by unexpected traumas, Jeff is trying to reconnect with his past, and Arnau is trying to connect with a girl. By grounding this wacky story with relatable character traits/defects, Safety Not Guaranteed gives real stakes to the time travel aspect of the story, and keeps the logic of that part from veering into nonsense.
In fact, since the relationships between characters is so strong, the time travel aspect is relegated to a really interesting subplot. This hangs like a cloud over Darius’s belief in Kenneth. At first the story seems far-fetched, but little warnings like the same car parked near him or his obsession with a laser research center keep Darius equally confused and compelled. By relegating the time travel stuff to the side, Director Colin Trevorrow can ignore the science part of the time travel story and focus on how it affects the characters. Safety Not Guaranteed gives you hints at how time travel could happen to make Kenneth seem reasonable.
Safety Not Guaranteed tries to parallel the Darius and Kenneth with Jeff, his fling, and Arnau. Sometimes the dichotomy intersects well: Jeff learns to let go of his past and enjoy his fling of the present while Darius and Kenneth spill secrets to each other about their reasons to travel. However, when the story leaves Darius and Kenneth, Safety Not Guaranteed has a tendency to drag. Arnau is poorly developed (he could almost be a prop since he is mostly dictated to), and Jeff’s story just is not as interesting. Jeff’s character is vindicated by the end, serves more as an audience surrogate than a well-developed character.
Aubrey Plaza has perfected this type of detached, sad character on TV. Here, she adds a little more humanity to Darius, giving believability to her vulnerability. The opening scenes make Darius just a little off from normal society, something Plaza excels at. Mark Duplass has a tougher role here; he must seem crazy to normal people but not too crazy that Darius would not be interested. Duplass easily shifts between crazy/guarded and grounded/hurt, best shown in the training scenes with Darius. He is convincing enough that I was always unclear as to whether he is telling the truth, and he finds great chemistry with Plaza. Jake Johnson comes very close to being a jerk, but he never crosses the line, especially in the final act with his tutelage of Arnau.
Safety Not Guaranteed is probably best exemplified with a scene in front of a campfire. Kenneth and Darius are huddled close and Kenneth plays her a song: with a zither. Campfire scenes in romcoms are commonplace in society, but none of them I remember use a zither. This little piece of quirk is a synecdoche for Safety Not Guaranteed: a sweet honest connection achieved through a very specific means. Good luck next to the next romcom that tries to top a zither as the musical instrument.