One of the handful of films I walked out of Sundance completely in love with was Safety Not Guaranteed, an indie sci-fi comedy with a warm(and quirky) romantic center that just clicked on all cylinders. At the time I speculated(my review here) it would be Aubrey Plaza's big break out into the Hollywood mainstream, and I stand by that. The same could happen for Mark Duplass, who is already making those inroads as a director with movies like Cyrus and Jeff, Who Lives At Home.
Plaza plays Darius, part of a trio of journalists investigating a newspaper ad looking for a partner to travel back in time with. The guy turns out to be Kenneth(Duplass), a rather average looking grocery store clerk, wannabe survivalist, and supposed kung fu master. It's meant to just be another fluff piece for the newspaper, but as works her way into Kenneth's life, they form a relationship that gets pretty deep.
Unfortunately, Safety Not Guaranteed opens on June 8th, which means it's going up against Prometheus. My suggestion is that you make it a sci-fi double feature. Get your mind totally blown away by Ridley Scott's film, then turn around and watch the genre be used in a way that can touch your heart. Check out the trailer below....
