SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD: Inevitability in Action

SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD (Blu-ray)

2012 / 101 min

Universal

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Princess Pepper😽

I seem to recall when this was first released and thinking the title was metaphorical. But indeed, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is almost exactly as advertised. The seeking part? No. But finding a friend when you weren’t actually seeking? Sure enough, which kinda makes the whole thing pretty predictable…

…to say nothing of somber, even if that wasn’t entirely writer-director Lorene Scafaria’s intention. It’s hard to mine comedy from the apocalypse, to say nothing of romantic comedy. Not that the movie is never funny, or without its sweet, feel-good moments, but the impending doom that underscores nearly every scene looms large. We already know how this is gonna turn out.

Still, it’s a fairly engaging journey along the way. A 70 mile wide asteroid is heading toward Earth, which of-course will wipe out everyone. But Dodge (Steve Carell) was already miserable before that, trapped in a bad marriage and dull job. That changes when he meets his free-spirited young neighbor, Penny (Keira Knightley) for the first time. She’s sort of a hot mess, too, having just broken up with her shiftless boyfriend. 

They have different agendas for the limited time they have left. Penny wants to go home to her parents. Dodge hopes to reunite with an old high school sweetheart (after reading a months-old letter from her that was put in Penny’s mailbox by mistake). This essentially becomes a road movie as these two opposites (and an abandoned dog) embark on the journey together. Anyone whose seen their share of romantic comedies will know how this turns out, too.

Seeking room on the sofa for the end of the world.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World unfolds like a benign variation of conceptually similar - but far more brutal - films like Miracle Mile and These Final Hours (the latter being one of the bleakest movies I’ve ever seen). The funniest moments are during the first act, particularly when Dodge attends a party thrown by friends who plan on going out with a bang. Though different in nearly every way (including their ages), Dodge and Penny’s budding romance is kind of charming, though for me, the most emotionally affecting scene involves Dodge and a spider he spots in his sink, which wordlessly conveys his sudden appreciation for life (no matter how much of it one has left). Maybe I’m just wired wrong.

Carell, Knightley and the supporting cast of recognizable actors (most of whom only appear in a scene or two) all give good performances, while Scafaria’s dialogue often touches on relatable themes and feelings. However, the movie doesn’t hold any real surprises. For the most part, we’re just watching the inevitable unfold, both the love story and humanity’s fate. 

This is a re-issue of a Blu-ray released in 2012.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - A Look Inside Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is your standard promo piece; Music for the End of the World: What’s On Your Playlist features cast members naming your own music choices.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By writer-director Lorene Scafaria (and her mother!), actors Patton Oswalt & Adam Brody, producer Joy Gorman.

OUTTAKES