Review of Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) by Durell B — 07 Apr 2013

I wanted to like this movie. I really wanted to like it but I disliked almost every minute of it with the exception of a few scenes. Seeking a Friend For the End of the World was a dull mixture of forced drama and awkward laughs.

I knew there would be slow dramatic moments but the whole movie is played with a dark undertone that made me cringe. It was marketed as a playful, semi but not overly serious comedy that showed more of a caricature society set to meet the end of the world.

Seeking a Friend made it hard to laugh because the film is so serious. This movie is not at all what I expected. I expected a comedy that touched on personal struggles and lost time but rather it was a moody experience the whole way.

The only scene I'm certain that was meant to be comedy was a brilliantly done restaurant scene that had a very happy, joyful feel. The restaurant scene was single handedly the funniest in the whole movie.

It was festive and written really well. The host, played by T.J. Miller, who could pass for Ryan Reynolds equally funny brother was flamboyant with great comic timing and provided the best laughs. Add to the pot Community alumni Gillian Jacobs who plays a super peppy waitress.

Miller and Jacobs steal the show; their fun and a lot more enjoyable. I'm not stating everything needed to be upbeat; Hell its the pending apocalypse. What I'm stating: if the goal is to make a more dramatic film; please don't market it is as a comedy.

Carell and Knightley make a decent road trip duo but I was bored with their trip after the first stop. It's all so confusing how you should absorb this world. Carell and Knightley hitch a ride with a good samaritan that has hired an assassin to kill him.

When the good samaritan bites the bullet, literally, I stared at the screen trying to process whether I should laugh or be shocked or both. It actually rubbed me the wrong way because it was at that point I knew this was not a slapstick comedy or even a dramedy.

The problem is that the director, Lorene Scarfaria, didn't know how to film this movie. Seeking a Friends' world was chaotic, beautiful, funny, cynical, depressing, inviting, erotic and boring all at the same time.

All of them can be used in the same film, but Scarfaria struggles to find a middle ground. Seeking a Friend felt like it wanted to be three different movies without a clear focus as to how to film any of them.

There are directors that can seamlessly integrate all these views but Scarfaria is not one of them. Nothing blended. This films motivations were not properly executed and potentially needed a new director.

In director Scarfaria's defense, this is her directorial debut but with a different vision and better understanding of how to evenly flow dark comedy into drama, this could have easily been a very good movie.

I do need to give props to the wardrobe department. I was impressed with the simplicity of Knightley's look. Very casual, yet sort of hip chic. Carell also had a nice look that was simple but had a unique dress casual style.

Both looks were effective and fitting to their personalities. I wish this was not a depressing, soul searching film. If I knew going in this would be a downer rather than fun with down moments I would have pass "GO".

But alas, Seeking was not horrible, just not nearly as good as it could have been and desperately needed to be.