Format: DVD from DeKalb Public Library on laptop.
This is the fourth in a series of twelve films suggested by Chip Lary at Tips from Chip.
Sometimes, the person in the movie can make a huge difference in my reaction to it. I’m going to just come out and say it: I don’t have an exceptionally high opinion of Aubrey Plaza, and this has nothing to do with the fact that her name sounds like a destination. Aubrey Plaza always looks to me like she’s just smelled something unpleasant. There’s something off-putting about her, which means that Safety Not Guaranteed had a strike against it going in.
Fortunately, Aubrey Plaza’s consistent impression of Daria from the MTV cartoon show of the same name is the only major strike against this film. Well, that and the fact that her character has a male name disturbingly reminiscent of that very character. Darius (Plaza) works as an intern for Seattle Magazine, an unpaid position where she takes a great deal of abuse from her boss Bridget (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and just about anyone else who isn’t an intern. At a staff meeting Jeff (Jake Johnson) proposes a story based on a classified ad asking for a volunteer to accompany the man who placed the ad to travel back in time with him. That partner is responsible for his or her own weapons, safety is not guaranteed (hence the title), and most interestingly, the person placing the ad claims to have done this once before.
