It seems like there have been a bunch
of movies about the end of the world the last few years. Maybe this
is a big, unspoken anxiety in our society right now. Anyway,
“Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” is a fairly good,
semi-serious exploration of the theme.
Steve Carrell plays Dodge, a sad sack
insurance salesman in a loveless marriage. We meet Dodge as he hears
the news that NASA's final attempt to stop an earth-bound asteroid
has failed. Humanity must resign itself to destruction, and people
react to this in a variety of ways. Some opt for hedonism, others
for suicide. Many leave their spouses, including Dodge's wife.
Dodge just continues to show up at his insurance job, not because the
work has meaning anymore, but simply because he is too depressed to
imagine doing anything else. Friends try to set him up with a woman,
but he isn't interested in such a meaningless, end-of-the-world
fling.
Then he meets Penny (Keira Knightley),
his flighty, attractive downstairs neighbor who is in the midst of
her own breakup. They wind up agreeing to help each other on their
individual quests. Dodge wants to re-unite with an old girlfriend,
and Penny wants to get back to England to spend the Apocalypse with
her family. You can figure out the rest.
This kind of story could easily
descend into treacle, and unfortunately, that is what happens at the
end. For most of the film, though, Carell and Knightley have enough
charm to create some real fun and humor, with help from an excellent
supporting cast. My only complaint, other than the sappy ending, is
that the film really doesn't explore very deeply the inner life of
the characters as they face impending annihilation. They dip their
toe into these waters at times, and the story is certainly
thought-provoking, but the movie ultimately feels shallow. I guess
that in the asteroid-apocalypse genre (e.g. “Deep Impact”
“Armageddon”) this qualifies as a pretty deep movie, though.
3 stars out of 5
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