Review: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

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Seeking a Friend poster

Imagine for a moment that the film Armageddon had turned out differently. What if Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck failed to blow up the "planet killer" headed towards Earth? Well, look no further. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World picks up where this hypothetical rewrite of Armageddon ends.

Steve Carell plays Dodge, a typical shlub who hears about the failure of the aformentioned mission via legacy media: the radio. Seconds after hearing this news Dodge's wife opens the car door, exits and runs away, never to be seen again. This is the beginning of the end in Dodge's meager existence.

In the ensuing days we see Dodge return to work as a phone rep for an insurance company -- he and a few other sad sacks just don't seem to get it. Why the heck are these people wasting their last days at some depressing corporate gig? Soon Dodge returns home to his apartment where he is greeted by his housekeeper busily cleaning his house. Dodge cannot find it in his heart to tell her not to come back, which seems to illustrate just how beaten down and timid he has become.

Dodge eventually finds himself at an end-of-the-world party being hosted by his best friends Warren and Diane (Rob Corddry and Austin favorite Connie Britton). They try to set Dodge up with an end-of-the-world romance. This love connection doesn't pan out and Dodge eventually returns home.

Upon returning home he has a chance encounter with his neurotic neighbor Penny (Keira Knightley). Eventually Penny hands Dodge a stack of mail that contains a letter from Dodge's lost love. This is where the adventure begins in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. As riots break out around them, Penny and Dodge, now friends, set out to find Dodge's long-lost love.

Our travelers find themselves on an epic journey with a number of random encounters that help shape their relationship. In a typical rom-com formula, Dodge and Penny develop feelings for each other. The remainder of the story is spent with Dodge and Penny, dealing with these newly developed feelings. While contrived and formulaic, the movie has its definite moments.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is written and directed by Lorene Scafaria, who does a commendable job. The movie starts with a small sprinking of sci-fi, a healthy serving of romance, and is finally accompanied with some minor dark and soul searching dramatic themes.

One element I really appreciated was the consummation of the relationship between Dodge and Penny. Rom-coms have a tried and true way of dealing with relationships. Boy meets girl, boy really wants other girl, boy gets other girl when he should be with the original girl, boy realizes his mistake and returns to original girl. Yawn! Dodge skips the wrong girl aspect and makes a good decision. I would probably count this as a spoiler, but come on, you know the formula, it's a breath of fresh air when it doesn't happen.

In a summer filled with large tentpole films, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is a nice diversion. Check out this quirky and charming film.

mixed bag but still good

So the last time I saw a Keira Knightley movie I couldn't even finish it because it was so bad (London Boulevard) but this one was much better. Although the tone shifts a little too dramatically a couple times, the movie's charm and dark humor won me over, plus Steve Carell and Knightley actually surprised me by having some great chemistry. Carell really can do the sad-sack character well.

One thing I was disappointed with was the music, especially considering this movie was from the creator of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist which is about as good as it gets when it comes to tunes. "Wouldn't It Be Nice" by The Beach Boys of course is awesome but has been used countless times already, so really the only song I was really thrilled with was "Sex Tourists" by French Kicks which ***SPOILER ALERT*** is the song that plays right when Dodge + Penny drive off after having sex. I was expecting more great under-the-radar tunes like this, but the movie was still good and I love French Kicks so much that their inclusion was almost enough to make up for it.