Review of Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) by Charlie E — 12 Jun 2014

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World snuck under the radar. Understandably so, as it's not your typical Carell comedy, although it is very funny. No, Seeking is a much more earnest film. It begins with a husband and wife in a car, listening to the announcement that a meteor will strike Earth, and there's absolutely nothing that can be done. Steve's character, Dodge, remarks that he thinks he missed the exit. His wife runs out. And that's pretty much the kind of film this is.

Most of the scenes and characters are played down, in a pseudo-realistic tone. The movie doesn't focus much on the chaos and anarchy that might break out, but rather an individual focus on Dodge and his friends. There are a lot of great one-liners that are slipped right by, as if the actors aren't even concerned that the audience will hear them, and that's how it should be. I hate films that try too hard to pander to their audience. Instead, there's a instinct of of truth behind every scene. How would this or that person act in the final weeks? A house party full of suburbanites cheer when heroin is brought to the party, as if a long-lost friend has come over. It's all pretty tongue-in-cheek.

Dodge befriends his neighbor, Penny, played just right by Keira Knightly. In these kinds of films, it's all too tempting to throw the straight man lead an eccentric female character to keep him on his toes, but the film doesn't quite go that route. She really just wants to get back to her family, and Dodge just wants to reconnect with the one who got away, before it all ends. The rest of the film is a road trip focusing on these two helping each other to get what they want. There's a lot of great cameos here but none of them are "in your face". To say that a romance would blossom between the two is no spoiler, I feel, but taking into consideration that the world is ending, it is warranted. After all, in a crisis, what more do people look for than the comfort of another?

The film earns its ending. I wont spoil it for you, but despite being a little syrupy, it's emotional. It gets you thinking, and that's the big draw of this film for me. It can be predictable, but that doesn't mean it's not truthful, or really fucking good.