'SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED'

'SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED' (R) (3 1/2 STARS)

Written by Derek Connolly
Directed by Colin Trevorrow
Actors: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni, Jenica Bergere,
Jeff Garlin, Mary Lynn Rajskub

What a completely original, charming, easygoing delight "Safety Not Guaranteed" is! This is how you do a solid love story and comedy, it really is not that hard! Big Hollywood romantic comedies mostly break my heart with disspapointment but independent treasures like this give me hope. Not only is "Safety Not Guaranteed" a good love story but it is also a time travel thriller that literally got me on the edge of my seat. This is a very well written and funny comedy that puts a new spin on the time travel movie.

The movie stars three actors I will now be rooting for to become major stars starting with the wonderful Aubrey Plaza. Also the male lead Mark Duplass is really coming into his own and Plaza and him have great chemistry here. The third actor is Jake Johnson and all three actors are very solid here. There is also a sly, witty and sometimes very funny and smart screenplay by David Connolly who I hope writes a lot more!

"Safety Not Guaranteed" tells the story of newspaper writer Jeff who sees a strange ad in the newspaper. The ad says that a man is looking for someone to accompany him in his time traveling machine to go back in time. He says that he is serious and that his partner will have to bring weapons. He has done this once before and SAFETY IS NOT GUARANTEED. Jeff takes two interns with him to research this classified ad and they will answer the man's ad. That man is Kenneth and we are not sure at first if he is serious, crazy or if he is playing a joke on everyone.

Jeff takes his two interns on a road trip to answer this classified ad in person. The first intern is Darius, a female loner who has a dry sense of humor. The second intern is a shy kid named Arnau. Jeff also wants to take the trip to hook up with an old flame and get Arnau a woman to sleep with because he is a virgin. Jeff strikes out in answering the ad in a very funny scene. Darius has better luck because with her being a loner she feels she has a strange connection with Kenneth.

This movie takes it's plot seriously and the movie mostly works because of the smart screenplay and the earnest and great performances from the actors. I have a huge crush on Aubrey and she is great at comedy. She is April on the hilarious television show "Parks and Recreation" and I think she steals the show away from everyone else and I mean from some of the best talent on television. She is a deadpan delight who I now believe can carry the lead in a small or major movie. She is a star in the making and she is very unique and we need more stars like that. She is amazing here with precise comic timing and she also shows a surprising amount of tenderness.

Mark Duplass started out with the very low budget Mumblecore movie movement but now has shown that he can show his acting skills in big productions. He reminds me of someone like Tom Hanks playing the everyman and he gives a great performance here. We want to believe his Kenneth and root for him even though he might be delusional thanks to Duplass. Jake Johnson(TV's New Girl) also shows he can be in major films and he is also very funny here. He first plays the wisecracking smart ass but then he settles down getting involved with a sweet, little love story on his own. All three actors here give three of the best performances of the year.

Lending great support also are Karan Soni's Arnau who is the other intern and Jenica Bergere as Jeff's love interest. Soni has some classic lines to say and he delivers them solidly and sweetly. Bergere has a great screen presence and is very sweet and touching. The movie respects it's characters and it's plot and takes it seriously. The movie is full of talk but there are some very well done thrilling scenes involving the time travel machine and if someone is really following Kenneth. We also have great anticipation in seeing if Kenneth is for real and if he really has a time machine.

So here the acting is superb, the love stories are touching and charming and the movie doesn't demean it's characters and it could have demeaned Kenneth. The movie is fun, funny, thrilling and competently paced and directed. I love this screenplay that is somewhat quirky and this is how quirky can come off as a great thing. "Safety Not Guaranteed" made me leave the theatre with a big smile on my face and feeling good and happy. Aubrey Plaza is someone to watch for and I couldn't keep my eyes or attention off of her for a second. Bravo!