Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)

As an asteroid nears Earth, a man finds himself alone after his wife leaves in a panic. He decides to take a road trip to reunite with his high school sweetheart. Accompanying him is a neighbor who inadvertently puts a wrench in his plan.

Director:

Lorene Scafaria

Writer:

Lorene Scafaria

Stars:

Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Melanie Lynskey

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Carell	...	Dodge
Keira Knightley	...	Penny
Adam Brody	...	Owen
Connie Britton	...	Diane
Roger Aaron Brown	...	Alfred
Rob Huebel	...	Jeremy
Trisha Gorman	...	Crying Woman
Nancy Carell	...	Linda
Mark Moses	...	Anchorman
Tonita Castro	...	Elsa
Leslie Murphy	...	Amy
Rob Corddry	...	Warren
Kasey Campbell	...	Danny
Melanie Lynskey	...	Karen
Vince Grant	...	Man #1 / Chip

Storyline

An asteroid named "Matilda" is on a collision course towards Earth and in three weeks the world will come to an absolute end. What would you do if your life and the world were doomed? One man decides to spend his time searching for his long lost love from high school during the coming catastrophe.

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Plot Keywords:

end of the world | title directed by female | road trip | human extinction | apocalypse | 

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Taglines:

Nice knowing you.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including sexual references, some drug use and brief violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title of the movie was taken from lyrics in the Chris Cornell song, "Preaching the End of the World", off of his Euphoria Mourning album.

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Goofs

When a policeman is driving Dodge and Linda to Speck's house, there is a security net between the front and back seats in the police car, but after they get out, the net is missing.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Radio Announcer: OK, what we're getting now is - yes, they're saying it was in fact a fire that erupted inside the external tank of the ship, exactly ninety-eight seconds after it entered the asteroid field. No one is sure what caused the fire which led to the massive explosion, killing all twelve crew members and scientists aboard the space shuttle Deliverance, taking with them our last and only hope. Once again, if you're just tuning in, the CSA space shuttle Deliverance has been destroyed. The ...
[...]

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Connections

References Armageddon (1998)

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Soundtracks

Set Adrift On Memory Of Bliss
(Radio Edit)
Written by Gary Kemp and Steve Cordes
Performed by PM Dawn (as P.M. Dawn)
Courtesy of Entertainment One U.S.LP

User Reviews

Best movie about an asteroid about to plaster humankind

If the Academy Awards had a category for Best Movie About an Asteroid About to Plaster Humankind, believe it or not there would be some great contenders. In the stupid comedy zone would be "Rock Jocks" (2012), a surprisingly hilarious oddball spoof about a secret team of asteroid hunters who save the world every night while we're asleep. In the Classics department would be "Meteor" (1979) with Sean Connery, Natalie Wood, Martin Landau and Henry Fonda (oh suddenly I got your attention with the Asteroid category didn't I?). And of course we have my pick for the best: "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" (2012).

Billed as a comedy or romcom, its genre description hardly does it justice. That's like calling "Casablanca" an action flick. I would say this movie falls squarely in the realm of esoteric films enjoyed by people who are not necessarily pretentious beard-stroking art connoisseurs nor mindless Hollywood tripers, but just reasonably smart folks who can dig deep into a good philosophical puzzler. The philosophy of course is the age old conundrum: "If a 70 mile asteroid falls in the forest and wipes out the world, does it make a sound?" Or something like that.

Seriously though, it's the question of what you would do with your last 2 weeks alive, and would you celebrate your life or regret your missteps? What would you do differently or try to fix in your last days? And most importantly, what albums would you grab if a crazed zombie mob were chasing you out of your home?

Surprisingly, this top notch film is the debut effort of rookie director/writer Sorene Scafaria. Before this her film credits boast such memorable performances as "Drunk Girl in Yugo" on "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" and the singer/songwriter of the tune "28" a slacker type ballad on the soundtrack of "Whip It" (2009). Think about that as you see how masterfully this entire film is put together and how everything from lighting to symmetry seems very carefully and expertly planned. This is no bumbling 1st try at film production. This entire movie struck me as if it could've been secretly directed by quirky master Wes Anderson ("Rushmore", "Royal Tenenbaums") or maybe even the incomparable Jim Jarmusch ("Coffee & Cigarettes", "Broken Flowers"). Indeed this movie had the air of one of those brooding rib ticklers that Bill Murray might've easily been cast in (Bill being a go-to lead for both Wes & Jim).

...which leads me to the cast. Of course there's the versatile comedian Steve Carrell, this time playing a Bill Murray-esque, stone-faced loner whose life is so dreary it would send Nietzsche in to therapy. And there's his antithesis, the equally versatile Keira Knightley who proves she is so much more charming and lovable than what Pirates of the Caribbean and those stuffy Victorian novel roles allowed her to show. The odd pairing of the two is supposed to be preposterous, and that's why it works brilliantly, almost like a Laurel & Hardy sketch. But as the film progresses it keeps getting better & better with so many awesome cameos and bit roles that fly past so fast you hadn't yet remembered where you saw the actor from the previous scene. Culminating in none other than Martin Sheen making a significant appearance, the who's-who of acting talent lends both a quirkiness and an air of authenticity to the production.

You've probably noticed I haven't said much about the actual story or even the genre. That's because I think it's best experienced as a surprise. But I'll just say this is definitely not a comedy, though it had me laughing out loud at least a dozen times. It's definitely not a romcom, though it had me snuggling up to my pillow and reaching for the box of chocolates. It's definitely not an action/adventure, though it did had some very tense moments, a few shocking deaths and tense scenes. I suppose it would just fall broadly under the category of drama-with-touches-of-everything-else. But above all else, it's a thinker's flick. If you read into it, it may very well change your entire perception of life, career, love, and astronomical objects. In other words, by FAR, this is the best Best Movie About an Asteroid About to Plaster Humankind.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 June 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,822,803, 24 June 2012

Gross USA:

$7,078,738

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$11,681,781

Company Credits

Production Co:

Focus Features, Mandate Pictures, Indian Paintbrush

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital Dolby

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1