Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

Three magazine employees head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed a classified advertisement seeking a companion for time travel.

Director:

Colin Trevorrow

Writer:

Derek Connolly

Stars:

Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson

8 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Aubrey Plaza	...	Darius
Lauren Carlos	...	Young Darius
Basil Harris	...	Restaurant Manager
Mary Lynn Rajskub	...	Bridget
Jake Johnson	...	Jeff
Karan Soni	...	Arnau
David Leo Schultz	...	Coworker
Jeff Garlin	...	Mr. Britt
Mark Duplass	...	Kenneth
William Hall Jr.	...	Shannon
Alice Hung	...	Shift Manager
Hassan Cristos Messiah	...	Boyfriend in Car (as Hassan 'Cristos' Messiah)
Keli Schurman-Darby	...	Girlfriend in Car
Jenica Bergere	...	Liz
Lynn Shelton	...	Uptight Mom

Storyline

Darius is a young intern at a Seattle-based magazine and jumps at the chance to investigate the author of a classified ad seeking someone to travel back in time with. Along with Jeff, the staff writer, and Arnau, a fellow intern, the three go on a road trip to a coastal town. While Jeff just wants to chase after his high school crush and Arnau wants some kind of life experience, Darius spends her time with Kenneth, a man who believes that he has built a time machine. The closer they become and the more they understand about each other, the less clear it becomes if Kenneth is just crazy or if he actually is going to successfully travel back in time.

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Plot Keywords:

time machine | intern | classified ad | time travel | interview | 

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Taglines:

What would you go back for?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including some sexual references

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the time travel ad is shown in the beginning, there are ads surrounding it for a Datsun and 1979 Hornet Wagon. Both of these cars are seen when the magazine trio is in Ocean View. Kenneth drives a first generation Datsun Z car and when Darius follows him to the "secure location" after he's done with work, they are spooked in the alley by a 1975-1977 Hornet Wagon, as AMC did not make a 1979 Hornet.

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Goofs

In the beginning of the film when Jeff Garlin and Aubrey Plaza are having Chinese food at the table, Jeff is seen eating food with a fork, but as the scene goes on he is eating with chopsticks.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Darius: How far back do you want me to go?

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Crazy Credits

John Silveira is credited as a Time Travel Consultant.

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Connections

References Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

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Soundtracks

Civilian
Written by Jenn Wasner
Performed by Wye Oak
Courtesy of Merge Records
By arrangement of Bank Robber Music

User Reviews

Sweet Summer Sleeper

If you like smart dialogue, an imaginative narrative, and well developed character, SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED is your film. The premise is well articulated with believable relationships portrayed by a talented cast. Audrey Plaza's star turn took the dopey outsider and added her own understated charm that illuminated every frame, especially the campfire scene with Mark Duplass. His performance was perhaps the riskiest.....playing a lonely but driven crusader whose character took a little from FISHER KING, a little from HEROS, a little more from BEAUTIFUL MIND and added a touch of STARMAN.

The ending might have seemed contrived without the sincerity of director Colin Trevorrow. SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED was certainly the best film I've seen so far this summer especially after my disappointment with Wes Anderson's most recent effort. It was its last night in Tallahasee attended by perhaps only a dozen people.....surprisingly many stag guys who weren't afraid to laugh out loud. I wonder how many of them were time travelers.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 October 2012 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Safety Not Guaranteed

Filming Locations:

Ocean Shores, Washington, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$750,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$97,762, 10 June 2012

Gross USA:

$4,010,957

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,424,699

Company Credits

Production Co:

FilmDistrict, Big Beach Films, Duplass Brothers Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1