“How far back do you want me to go? College? Oh, I was totally outgoing. A real people person. In high school, I felt like that mouse that gets dropped into the snake cage and just kinda sits there, frozen, trying to blend in.” The part about college is false because although the film’s protagonist, Darius Britt (Aubrey Plaza), says she was outgoing, the viewer sees brief scenes of her as a sort of loner as her voiceover narration is speaking these words. The part about high school, however, is true, and the viewer sees her standing in the middle of a party, looking as though she doesn’t know what to do. With the help of the visuals, this quote at the very start of the film expresses the feeling of boredom and monotony in Darius’ life. What’s clever about it is when Darius asks, “How far back do you want me to go?” it reflects the film’s overall premise of time traveling. Her opening narration holds the film’s earliest example of going back in time because Darius first explains her time in college, and then goes further back to high school, and then goes back as far as her childhood.
In director Colin Trevorrow’s 2012 film, “Safety Not Guaranteed,” he makes the theme of time as relevant for the characters who want to go back in time as he does to those you want to stay directly in the present and make their changes there. In what could have been a typical romantic comedy about finding love and traditional relationships is instead a romantic comedy-drama with a tender sci-fi twist. In the film’s blend of these genres, the story derives a lot of its comedic elements through the establishment of first-time relationships, or establishment of relationships through second chances.
The story revolves around Darius (Aubrey Plaza), a displeased intern at a Seattle magazine. A fellow writer, Jeff (Jake Johnson), suggests that he, Darius and another intern, Arnau (Karan Soni), write a story on an ad written by Kenneth Calloway (Mark Duplass), who is offering those interested to go back in time with him. They then head to his hometown to see what he is all about. In Thomas Schatz’s book, “Hollywood Genres: Formulas, Filmmaking, and the Studio System,” he says, “As a popular film audience, our shared needs and expectations draw us into the movie theater. If we are drawn there by a genre film, we are familiar with the ritual,” (29). In the case of Safety Not Guaranteed, this isn’t the typical film for an audience that just seeks popular films. It’s an indie movie, and indie movies tend to be more grounded in reality. So, in going into a film that revolves around the possibility of the two main characters achieving their goal of going back in time, the viewer doesn’t know whether to believe that this will actually happen, or if this film will stay in reality, as is the case for many independent films. Because the film has a few different genres working together, it’s difficult to tell which way the film will go.
The scene where Darius meets Kenneth for the first time is one of many that has the underlying theme of time; not exactly of the passing of time, but of what the times of these characters are like in the present moment. It’s a boy-meets-girl type of situation, but isn’t as typical as we’re used to seeing. There aren’t any star-crossed gazes or the like. Their first meeting is like that of two people conspiring for a secret mission. The clothing of the characters and their surroundings in this scene detail the monotonous nature of their lives. The viewer sees the rows and rows of Campbell’s soup cans in front of Kenneth, everything neatly in place. No variety is present. Both of their outfits’ colors express a sense of loneliness in their lives because the viewer sees Darius wearing the faded jeans and the darker colors on top, and Kenneth is wearing very dull colors, such as a light blue shirt and beige vest. These colors match the state that their lives are in now because they can both be seen as loners. This monotony illustrates how they are stuck in time and that their lives aren’t going anywhere, as of now. The deadpan humor that Aubrey Plaza gives to her character is also a small, yet important, detail that further expresses the dullness of her life. According to Tamar Jeffers McDonald’s book, “Romantic Comedy: Boy Meets Girl Meets Genre,” she says, “Crying frequently occupies an important space in the narrative of the romantic comedy: as an index of the pain a lover feels when apart from the beloved, when rejected or lonely,” (10). Darius transcends this cliché because of her seemingly stoic expressions in this scene. She doesn’t need crying because her expressionless face reflects how lonely and unattached she is to the world around her, but also serves a comedic purpose because of her humorously pokerfaced line delivery. However, as she begins to bond with Kenneth throughout the film, see begins to open up to him and show emotion little by little.
Their ages play a role in this scene as well. The director frames Darius and Kenneth together in a close-up, and despite an emotional distance between, there is still that feeling of intimacy in their discussion because of how they are positioned. Their difference in age can strike some viewers as being unconventional, especially because this has a romantic-comedy element to it. Although the age difference between the two actors isn’t that great in reality, the way the two are dressed makes their age difference seem bigger. This difference in age becomes more significant later in the movie because the viewer learns that Kenneth wants to go back in time to fix some mistakes he made with a girl in high school. So, Darius is almost like a surrogate girlfriend to Kenneth.
The characters’ want for time traveling to the past is cleverly depicted in a scene at a high school football game. Darius and Kenneth go there to discuss their time-traveling plans. The two of them are sitting on one bleacher, and Jeff and Arnau are on another. The placing of these characters at a high school game assists in emphasizing how the main characters are positioning themselves in an environment that reflects the past to that they wish to travel. Breaking the characters into pairs kick starts the dynamics that will be seen in these pairs in other scenes throughout the film. As the viewer watches Darius find Kenneth, other couples are visible around them, subtly addressing Kenneth’s need to see his high school crush again, and further hinting at Darius and Kenneth becoming a couple near the film’s end, as well as their need for intimacy. The movie doesn’t reveal Kenneth’s need for going back in time until later, but with repeat viewings, the viewer has knowledge and a better understanding as to why the director positioned the two characters like this.
After the exchange between Darius and Kenneth, the film cuts to Jeff and Arnau sharing beers where they are sitting. With this pair, the viewer can see how different the two are. Arnau is a nerdy, timid young adult, and Jeff is a more confident and outgoing older male. Arnau opens his can of beer, takes a sniff, and puts on a face of mild disgust, whereas Jeff just takes a swig, emanating a party-boy mentality. It also interestingly makes the viewer see Jeff as a teenager because after he opens the beer, he sneakily looks around the bleachers to make sure he isn’t caught with the beer, as if he’s a teenager who is drinking underage; when in actuality, he’s just worried about being caught with alcohol at a high school game. There are traces of nostalgia and the notion of second chances in the dialogue between Jeff and Arnau. Jeff tells him, “God, I remember this smell. The smell of grass. I used to play a little bit, back in the day.” Arnau then tells Jeff, “I think you should give Liz (Jeff’s past girlfriend) another chance. That sucks to spend all that time thinking about her, and you’re finally here, and you don’t follow through with it.” Just like the people surrounding Darius and Kenneth on the bleachers, the people surrounding Jeff and Arnau on their section of bleachers offer a deeper meaning to their issues. The two are surrounded by high school girls, and Jeff is telling Arnau that he should ask one out. This exchange of dialogue between the two will relate to other scenes that they will share together.
A pivotal scene that comes later in the film shows two important actions happening. Though parallel editing isn’t exactly what’s used, the viewer can distinguish that these two events are occurring at the same time. One of these events involves Darius and Kenneth sitting around a campfire, an intimate setting that hints that something significant will happen, and the viewer sees a straight-on shot of them sitting close together with the fire between them, as well as shot-counter-shot editing that displays the growing attraction between them. The viewer can tell that their relationship has evolved into something romantic, some evidence of that being how Darius continues to exhibit some genuine emotion towards Kenneth, never breaking her gaze away from him as he performs a song for her. The song is called “Big Machine,” which was written by Ryan Miller, who also composed the film’s musical score. The first few lyrics go as, “Stand straight/Fall back in line/Comb your hair/Get to work on time/Everyone in the big machine/Tries to break your heart/And pull you underneath/Maybe I’m wrong/And all that you get is what you see/Maybe I’m right/And there’s something out there to believe.” This big machine that he’s referring to is time itself. From “Stand straight…is what you see,” that all relates to how Kenneth and Darius have felt stuck in the times in which they have been placed. But, that last line describes how they feel now. Kenneth singing this song and Darius giving him unwavering attention shows that they have found hope in each other, and possibly an escape from the average lives they have been living.
The second action that’s taking place as this is happening is Jeff insisting that Arnau goes out and gets a girlfriend. This occurs right after Jeff comes back to their motel after an unsuccessful attempt to reconnect with Liz. Jeff’s effort to get back with his girlfriend was his own version of going back in time. This is a strong moment because instead of Jeff being able to reconnect with his past to fix his future, he wants to try and fix Arnau’s present in order to give him a better future. He asks Arnau, “Why are you sitting here? Why would you be sitting on your computer? You are a young man. You got the whole world ahead of you. I’m asking you to be a man and try. Are you ready to have a crazy night with me? ‘Cause I’m ready. Say you’re ready. Say you’re ready. Let’s do something stupid!” Jeff brings Arnau out to meet new people, eventually spotting a group of teens outside a convenience store. The concept of time comes in as Jeff helps them embrace their years as youths by buying them beer, as well as embracing his own youthful side. They engage in drinking and go on bumper cars and go-karts, all while having the time of their lives. While this is occurring, the director uses a handheld camera to film the scene, highlighting the wild and crazy nature of the night that the group is experiencing. This scene relates to a passage in Schatz’s book, in which he states, “Ultimately, the sustained success of any genre depends upon at least two factors: the thematic appeal and significance of the conflicts it repeatedly addresses and its flexibility in adjusting to the audience’s and filmmakers’ changing attitudes towards the conflicts,” (31). Although Safety Not Guaranteed can’t be classified in just one genre, it still has thematic resonance with the audience because of how it deals with characters who want to change their lives by embracing their youth and engaging in opportunities for once-in-a-lifetime and second chances, themes that click with many moviegoers.
The two scenes eventually come thematically closer. After we see Darius and Kenneth kiss for the first time, the film cuts to Jeff trying to make a few changes to Arnau’s image so he can be more confident with girls. Jeff says, “You’re not gonna get this opportunity very much longer. You’re not always gonna be 21, young man. You’re not gonna be your age forever. This is the moment you live for.” After Jeff leaves Arnau in the motel room with the girl, they are framed in a straight-on close-up shot, offering a charge of an impending attraction felt between the two characters. During this, the film cuts back to Darius and Kenneth getting close by the fire, and the viewer sees that both couples have found someone to love. The music to “Big Machine” plays in the background, reminding the viewer of the lyric, “Maybe I’m right and there’s something out there to believe,” reflecting how there is something in the world for Darius, Kenneth and Arnau, and that their lives have the potential to improve.
Although “Safety Not Guaranteed” can be viewed as a comedy, its use of other genres, such as science fiction and drama, assists the film in transgressing the comedy genre clichés, so as to throw off the audience’s expectations. The films genuinely funny moments certainly make this a comedy, but the softer and more romantic moments have this film go into dramatic territory as well, sometimes turning the film into a romantic dramedy. Add in the sci-fi spin, and it results in a film that can’t be classified into just one genre, but one that successfully blends them without any clashing.
Works Cited
McDonald, Tamar Jeffers. Romantic Comedy: Boy Meets Girl Meets Genre. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007.
Schatz, Thomas. “The Genius of the System” and “Film Genres and the Genre Film.” Hollywood Genres: Formulas, Filmmaking, and the Studio System. New York: Random House, 1981. 3-41.
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