Film 89-90 (Great Indie Films)
Safety Not Guaranteed
Starring: Aubrey Plaza ("Parks and Rec") and Nick Johnson ("New Girl") and Mark Duplass
This is the kind of film that comes out of nowhere, and you literally have to search for it, too, and ends up delighting you with its enduring quality.
It stars two actors that we are familiar with only on TV, both of them are fantastic comics on very well written shows that you cannot help but expect good things for them. Unfortunately, because this is an under-the-radar film, I do not really see them breaking away from television and getting film recognition in bigger films. I can see continuing to be indie "darlings" though, which I'd be more than happy with.
It's probably no surprise that I have a major crush on Aubrey Plaza. She has all the qualities that fit the description of a Sean-induced crush: high cheekbones, perfect brown eyes, an almost-perfect heart-shaped mouth, a dry wit/sense of humor that is biting at times when it has to be. She is the antithesis of the Hollywood, blonde bombshell, but at the same time, she's defining herself as a bombshell in her own right, at the risk of being typecast. She has a natural, girl-next-door, who'll be your best friend and dress in plaid with no forgiveness while looking extremely hot and perhaps doesn't know that you dream about her and will throw back a few beers with you while watching your favorite sport foxiness quality to her that has gone unnoticed by the masses (I think, but certainly not by me, I tend to have an eye for this kind of thing!) Thankfully she's remained rather unexploited by Hollywood, and I hope it remains that way; but her snarkiness, scowls, furrows of the eyebrows, lethargy allows her to fit into the "Mumblecore" genre of films.
Let it be known: I am in love with Aubrey Plaza! For she is never put into films as the Manic Pixie Dream Girl (a type I seem to fall for quite often).
"Safety Not Guaranteed" is a sort-of road trip comedy (of errors, or rather mistaken identities). There is also a bit of a sci-fi touch to it. It begins with a reporter/writer for a Seattle-based magazine who spins a story to his editor about a guy who put a classified ad in the paper for a companion to accompany him back in time in his time machine at the end of said ad it states "safety not guaranteed" (hence the title). Nick Johnson plays the writer/reporter named Jeff and he actually has a bit of a hidden agenda. He wants to look up an old girlfriend whom he thinks "got away" from him years ago. Anyway, he enlists the assistance of two interns, one of which is played by Aubrey Plaza (who, in the name has a name that even downplays her hotness: Darius). As Jeff and his team of two interns scope out Kenneth (the man with the time machine), it is Darius who plays up her hotness and feminine wiles to "seduce" Kenneth so that the team can get the story they came for. One of the best lines comes from Darius: "So, you are dangling my vagina out there like bait." Meanwhile Jeff goes to find his ex-flame, who he discovers has grown up, but does not look the way he imagined or expected, yet he still wants her and sleeps with her and falls for her.
The film is a bit of a love story, though and the title takes on a double entendre (safety not guaranteed in the attempt at time travel but also in the attempt at pursuit of love). Darius begins to fall for the could-be crackpot/possible genius (if he actually has a time machine), even though he has admitted that he wants to travel back in time to save/protect his lost love (another woman). There believable tension, but at the same time believable chemistry between Darius and Kenneth as the story develops, leading to a wonderful climax after a bit of an unexpected turn, which I won't ruin because this film is charming enough for you to enjoy all on your own.
..............................................................
It's very hard for me to accept that actors and actresses my age or ones that I grew up watching as teenagers are now playing "married" roles. (Re: Natalie Portman in "Brothers" and Amy Adams in "The Fighter" and Kirsten Dunst "All Good Things" and now Michelle Williams in "Take This Waltz"). This is a trio of serious films, as well.
Take This Waltz
Directed by Sarah Polley
Starring Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen
Sarah Polley is another actor/actress turned director who is a decent actress but has a keen eye as a director when looking through the camera lens. Her most notable roles were in films like the remake of "Dawn of the Dead" and "Go" as well as one I remember as my introduction to her "The Sweet Hereafter" (which I watched with an A.P. English class at my father's high school). In 2006 Polley took a turn in the Director's Chair for her debut called "Away from Her" (which now I'm dying to see). She's also directed a documentary called "Stories We Tell" which chronicles her own family's history with an interesting twist I won't tell you.
Anyway, "Take This Waltz" is an unbelievable look at a young married couple where they express their love for each other by stating different ways they would help the other meet their demise. I thought this was very clever writing and it brought a unique style to their marriage/relationship. Here, Michelle Williams is married to Seth Rogen (believable? I'm not too sure, but Polley seems to recognize this because Williams plays a young woman who has second-thoughts about just exactly how happy she truly is, being married).
It begins with her character, Margot, on a business trip (as a photographer for a travel magazine of sorts. By happenstance she meets Daniel (played by Luke Kirby) and they flirt (on the plane and in the cab). Margot seems content with the flirting until she realizes Daniel is a neighbor and now she will probably be seeing him more often, especially since there's obvious chemistry and the temptation, which she cannot seem to fight (even though she is "happily" married). I never got the sense that her character was happily married though. I mean, if you are open and willing to flirt, how happy can you truly be? Margot almost makes excuses to see Daniel and Sarah Polley, as the director, plays with their relationship very well. You can tell that Margot is dizzy, head-in-the-clouds, giddy with new feelings and emotions for Daniel (like a school girl with a crush). They even go to some sort of carnival together, where they partake in one of those spinning carnival rides complete with quick-to-quicker pace of dizzying motion, mood lighting, and "romantic" music (well, maybe not, it's "Video Killed the Radio Star"). Suddenly the ride comes to a halt and the lights come back on and the mood is abruptly interrupted, like prematurely.
Seth Rogen plays Lou (the naive, happily married guy who is also a writer/chef, working on a chicken-based cookbook). In another scene in the film, Polley shows us the contrast of male characters in Margot's life. Daniel (who pulls a rickshaw, really? where the hell is this fictional town where they still have rickshaws?) offers to give Margot and Lou a ride in his rickshaw. Lou is obviously morally superior to Daniel, but Daniel, by pulling a rickshaw is physically superior. And, apparently that's what Margot is attracted to, since there are no sex scenes with the "happily" married couple, but instead there are a couple of intimate, sexual scenes between Margot and Daniel. We get the picture, Sarah Polley. Seth Rogen as the good guy is the marriage-material, but Daniel is the physical specimen of sexual attraction. That's probably the only thing I really did not enjoy about the film. She is, perhaps inadvertently sending a message. Whether she knows it or not. That's the message I received. No matter how great a man you are to your wife, no matter how much you express your love for her...there's always temptation, and chances are the temptation will be too great to ignore and/or deny.
Polley has a keen eye and ear for important scenes, because there's yet another one almost near the beginning of the film. In what would have been an otherwise sexy scene (three young ladies in a communal shower, including Michelle Williams and Sarah Silverman, who plays the alcoholic sister-in-law, unashamedly going full frontal). Instead, Polley uses this scene to tell another important message, because in the same shower, just on the other end of the room, there are three older/elder women showering at the same time, also fully naked. The young women are having a conversation about life and how everything shiny and new eventually becomes tarnished and old, so the imagery is deliberate on the director's part. Here we have attractive young ladies contrasted with the elderly women, one of which states the exact message Polley is telling us.
I admire Sarah Polley for her directorial achievement with "Take This Waltz" (even despite the ending, which did not make me happy, but really had to be). She presents us with a dark look at marriage and love.
Starring: Aubrey Plaza ("Parks and Rec") and Nick Johnson ("New Girl") and Mark Duplass
This is the kind of film that comes out of nowhere, and you literally have to search for it, too, and ends up delighting you with its enduring quality.
It stars two actors that we are familiar with only on TV, both of them are fantastic comics on very well written shows that you cannot help but expect good things for them. Unfortunately, because this is an under-the-radar film, I do not really see them breaking away from television and getting film recognition in bigger films. I can see continuing to be indie "darlings" though, which I'd be more than happy with.
It's probably no surprise that I have a major crush on Aubrey Plaza. She has all the qualities that fit the description of a Sean-induced crush: high cheekbones, perfect brown eyes, an almost-perfect heart-shaped mouth, a dry wit/sense of humor that is biting at times when it has to be. She is the antithesis of the Hollywood, blonde bombshell, but at the same time, she's defining herself as a bombshell in her own right, at the risk of being typecast. She has a natural, girl-next-door, who'll be your best friend and dress in plaid with no forgiveness while looking extremely hot and perhaps doesn't know that you dream about her and will throw back a few beers with you while watching your favorite sport foxiness quality to her that has gone unnoticed by the masses (I think, but certainly not by me, I tend to have an eye for this kind of thing!) Thankfully she's remained rather unexploited by Hollywood, and I hope it remains that way; but her snarkiness, scowls, furrows of the eyebrows, lethargy allows her to fit into the "Mumblecore" genre of films.
Let it be known: I am in love with Aubrey Plaza! For she is never put into films as the Manic Pixie Dream Girl (a type I seem to fall for quite often).
"Safety Not Guaranteed" is a sort-of road trip comedy (of errors, or rather mistaken identities). There is also a bit of a sci-fi touch to it. It begins with a reporter/writer for a Seattle-based magazine who spins a story to his editor about a guy who put a classified ad in the paper for a companion to accompany him back in time in his time machine at the end of said ad it states "safety not guaranteed" (hence the title). Nick Johnson plays the writer/reporter named Jeff and he actually has a bit of a hidden agenda. He wants to look up an old girlfriend whom he thinks "got away" from him years ago. Anyway, he enlists the assistance of two interns, one of which is played by Aubrey Plaza (who, in the name has a name that even downplays her hotness: Darius). As Jeff and his team of two interns scope out Kenneth (the man with the time machine), it is Darius who plays up her hotness and feminine wiles to "seduce" Kenneth so that the team can get the story they came for. One of the best lines comes from Darius: "So, you are dangling my vagina out there like bait." Meanwhile Jeff goes to find his ex-flame, who he discovers has grown up, but does not look the way he imagined or expected, yet he still wants her and sleeps with her and falls for her.
The film is a bit of a love story, though and the title takes on a double entendre (safety not guaranteed in the attempt at time travel but also in the attempt at pursuit of love). Darius begins to fall for the could-be crackpot/possible genius (if he actually has a time machine), even though he has admitted that he wants to travel back in time to save/protect his lost love (another woman). There believable tension, but at the same time believable chemistry between Darius and Kenneth as the story develops, leading to a wonderful climax after a bit of an unexpected turn, which I won't ruin because this film is charming enough for you to enjoy all on your own.
..............................................................
It's very hard for me to accept that actors and actresses my age or ones that I grew up watching as teenagers are now playing "married" roles. (Re: Natalie Portman in "Brothers" and Amy Adams in "The Fighter" and Kirsten Dunst "All Good Things" and now Michelle Williams in "Take This Waltz"). This is a trio of serious films, as well.
Take This Waltz
Directed by Sarah Polley
Starring Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen
Sarah Polley is another actor/actress turned director who is a decent actress but has a keen eye as a director when looking through the camera lens. Her most notable roles were in films like the remake of "Dawn of the Dead" and "Go" as well as one I remember as my introduction to her "The Sweet Hereafter" (which I watched with an A.P. English class at my father's high school). In 2006 Polley took a turn in the Director's Chair for her debut called "Away from Her" (which now I'm dying to see). She's also directed a documentary called "Stories We Tell" which chronicles her own family's history with an interesting twist I won't tell you.
Anyway, "Take This Waltz" is an unbelievable look at a young married couple where they express their love for each other by stating different ways they would help the other meet their demise. I thought this was very clever writing and it brought a unique style to their marriage/relationship. Here, Michelle Williams is married to Seth Rogen (believable? I'm not too sure, but Polley seems to recognize this because Williams plays a young woman who has second-thoughts about just exactly how happy she truly is, being married).
It begins with her character, Margot, on a business trip (as a photographer for a travel magazine of sorts. By happenstance she meets Daniel (played by Luke Kirby) and they flirt (on the plane and in the cab). Margot seems content with the flirting until she realizes Daniel is a neighbor and now she will probably be seeing him more often, especially since there's obvious chemistry and the temptation, which she cannot seem to fight (even though she is "happily" married). I never got the sense that her character was happily married though. I mean, if you are open and willing to flirt, how happy can you truly be? Margot almost makes excuses to see Daniel and Sarah Polley, as the director, plays with their relationship very well. You can tell that Margot is dizzy, head-in-the-clouds, giddy with new feelings and emotions for Daniel (like a school girl with a crush). They even go to some sort of carnival together, where they partake in one of those spinning carnival rides complete with quick-to-quicker pace of dizzying motion, mood lighting, and "romantic" music (well, maybe not, it's "Video Killed the Radio Star"). Suddenly the ride comes to a halt and the lights come back on and the mood is abruptly interrupted, like prematurely.
Seth Rogen plays Lou (the naive, happily married guy who is also a writer/chef, working on a chicken-based cookbook). In another scene in the film, Polley shows us the contrast of male characters in Margot's life. Daniel (who pulls a rickshaw, really? where the hell is this fictional town where they still have rickshaws?) offers to give Margot and Lou a ride in his rickshaw. Lou is obviously morally superior to Daniel, but Daniel, by pulling a rickshaw is physically superior. And, apparently that's what Margot is attracted to, since there are no sex scenes with the "happily" married couple, but instead there are a couple of intimate, sexual scenes between Margot and Daniel. We get the picture, Sarah Polley. Seth Rogen as the good guy is the marriage-material, but Daniel is the physical specimen of sexual attraction. That's probably the only thing I really did not enjoy about the film. She is, perhaps inadvertently sending a message. Whether she knows it or not. That's the message I received. No matter how great a man you are to your wife, no matter how much you express your love for her...there's always temptation, and chances are the temptation will be too great to ignore and/or deny.
Polley has a keen eye and ear for important scenes, because there's yet another one almost near the beginning of the film. In what would have been an otherwise sexy scene (three young ladies in a communal shower, including Michelle Williams and Sarah Silverman, who plays the alcoholic sister-in-law, unashamedly going full frontal). Instead, Polley uses this scene to tell another important message, because in the same shower, just on the other end of the room, there are three older/elder women showering at the same time, also fully naked. The young women are having a conversation about life and how everything shiny and new eventually becomes tarnished and old, so the imagery is deliberate on the director's part. Here we have attractive young ladies contrasted with the elderly women, one of which states the exact message Polley is telling us.
I admire Sarah Polley for her directorial achievement with "Take This Waltz" (even despite the ending, which did not make me happy, but really had to be). She presents us with a dark look at marriage and love.
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