The End of the World is Nigh
Attempts to save the world from a major asteroid fail leaving the planet and everyone on it seriously screwed with just 21 days to live. Whilst some abandon their old ways and go in search of wanton sex, drugs and alcohol others try to carry on with a bit of dignity. Insurance salesman Dodge (Steve Carell) attempts to carry on as normal but as his other half leaves him and all those close start living life to their own agenda's he starts to question what he should do. It is then he meets his neighbour Penny (Keira Knightley) who has missed all the flights back to Britain where her relatives live and Dodge decides he is going to track down his college girlfriend, the one that got away and in return for driving him he will help Penny get a flight.
Tone and interpretation are two of the most crucial words when talking about "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" as those words with expectation will tell you whether or not you will enjoy it. Now if someone gave me a script which featured the end of the world, a road trip and chalk n cheese characters I could picture a daft mainstream comedy which would have played out in a similar manner to how this one does but as I said mainstream. But in the hands of someone else they may see this more as a quirky, off beat comedy with a more independent bent. As I said it is tone and interpretation which are critical and if you watched expecting more of a mainstream comedy you may end up disappointed.
Now as for me; well I don't know what I am because I would have loved "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" to be more of a mainstream comedy with big obvious laughs but the quirky, offbeat side of it is still quite appealing with Steve Carell giving another entertaining performance as a slightly awkward every man. To be honest I am really at a loss for words because there is plenty of really enjoyable comedy and quite a sweet love story but for everything which works there is something which doesn't. For example the news broadcasts which say they will live report the end of the world is funny, but then scenes such as Penny clutching her records and the Friendsy's bar scenes just really didn't do it for me. It is the same with Keira Knightley as I suppose her performance is good but is it the right performance next to Steve Carell's? I am not entirely sure.
What this all boils down to is that I don't honestly know how I feel about "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" and it is rare that happens. The idea is good, the performances are good, the humour is good but at the same time I don't know if the performances are right, there are jokes which don't work and I would have preferred something in a more mainstream way. As I said I honestly can't tell whether I like "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" or not. What I do know I will have to watch again to make sense of how I feel about it.
