Review of Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) by Raji K — 10 Feb 2017

Steve Carrell and Keira Knightley co-star in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. As the title suggests, the end of the world is near, and Carrell is Dodge and he is simply wants to find a friend before the World ends. He has 21 days, and his wife has left him in a panic. He meets people, but all of them seem to be only interested in having orgies, drinking or doing drugs before the worlds demise. He hopes for something a little more meaningful.

He meets his neighbor Penny (Keira Knightley) and the two begin talking. She gives him the mail that she has been hoarding of his over the past 3 years, and one of them happens to be a letter from a girl Dodge once loved. She feels bad and the two set off to find his high school sweetheart. They meet quite a few characters along the way, ranging from a man who is assassinated for a suicide, people who party, and many who have simply given up on life. As the two journey, together they begin to bond and begin to realize everything they are both looking for may very well be right in front of them.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World was a good enough film. It was interesting to see how all the different people react to the world's end. This includes everything from looting, to drinking, to self-loathing to suicide. Quite a few people just went on with their daily lives as if nothing else would change or matter anyway. Carrell and Knightley are well cast and they had good chemistry together. Although the film is advertised as a comedy, and in some ways, it is, it is not a laugh out loud type of movie. It's a bit more of a dark comedy and Carrell seems pretty set on being cast as these sorts of morose characters looking for direction in life. There was not a particularly moment in the movie that really grabbed me or had me really endearing or liking the main characters, but their adventure was pleasant enough. Perhaps knowing they may also be at the fate of the world's end keeps one from truly being attached to the characters themselves.

-2.10.2017.