Safety Not Guaranteed

Last weekend, we saw a fabulous movie. I rushed all of us out to the closest "art" theatre on the strength on one review, and I'm so glad I did. I was afraid that if we didn't see it right away it would drop out of the playlist, and, indeed it has. After vetting its plot online, I was even willing to disregard its "R" rating, and take my daughters to see it. As long as people are not being blown up, a bit of bad language won't hurt them. Even they loved every second of it!

I don't even know how to describe this movie. It was billed as sci fi, and, I suppose, in the long run, it is. But really it was much more about relationships. It was about the way we live with ourselves and the way the past colors our present. It was about regret, and trust, and love. Every moment of the unexpected and inexplicable interaction between the two main characters just felt 100% true to me, and very recognizable. It's not often that a film seems both outlandish and familiar, but this one did. And along with all that, it was a comedy -- and not a comedy. Really, I just loved it.

So if you at all have a chance to see it, go do so at once! That might be a challenge because it didn't open big and it's not lasting long; it looks like it's only playing about 63 screens in the whole country. But, if you can't hit the theatre, it will come out on DVD. It just takes patience. As soon as it does, I'm going to snap up a copy and watch it again. And again.

You can read much better, insightful, polished and comprehensive reviews than mine at Variety, the New York Times, the LA Times, etc. Be careful of online review sites because you don't want them to give away too much of the good stuff to you.

And whatever you do, DO NOT watch the official trailer. It's a terrible Spoiler!! It strings all the very best moments of the movie together into almost a summary. I was going to post it here, but really, you'll enjoy it so much more if you go in cold and just let the images, the characters, and the slowly unfolding pace take you along for the ride.