Review of Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) by Jim H — 15 Sep 2014

Steve Carell pulls off here what Jim Carrey couldn't in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind": successfully underplay a role that could easily be overplayed. That's not as much of an indictment of Carrey's performance as it is a congratulations to the moviemakers here, who figured out very early that not having Carell in that role could potentially ruin the movie before it even got started.

Carell doesn't have to stretch the boundaries of his acting abilities very much, because this role is right up his acting alley. There is absolutely no heat â" expectedly â" between him and Keira Knightley, but I'm not sure that she can do that with any of her acting roles, and certainly not with a guy like Carell.

You get the feeling that this role was written and meant for at least two or three other leading ladies who turned it down before she was offered it. Give her an E for effort, though, for capably filling in the gaps when the story moves away from Carell's character for a bit.

It's a satire, and if you don't like lighthearted, predictable satires, this isn't for you. But if you follow along, it will leave you with a nice (not great) feeling as you walk out of the theater.