Have you ever watched a movie and thought that what you are seeing had the potential to be a masterpiece, but falls short thanks to some very strange choices? It’s a sad thing to have to say about any film, but it’s especially sad to say about Seeking a Friend For the End of the World, a movie that has moments of absolute perfection. There’s so much about this quirky comedy that I loved, but severe shifts in the tone stop it from being all that it could have been.
Seeking a Friend is about doomsday and two people who fall in love in the most unusual of circumstances. A meteor is set to wipe out all human life on Earth, and Dodge (Steve Carell) is regretting every moment of his existence. Teaming up with his new friend, Penny (Keira Knightley), the two head out on a road trip to find Dodge’s lost love, something he should have done a long time ago.
The end result is a story with a generous mix of comedy and drama, and a little bit of road movie tossed in just to keep the plot moving. Originally the humor has a perfect dark, satirical tone that is befitting of a film with an inevitable unhappy ending. Somewhere along the way the comedy falls flat, which works to the detriment of the serious moments
One scene featured Ryan Reynolds having a drug-fueled orgy at a roadside restaurant. Sounds a little bit crazy, huh? You have no idea. There are moments where the comedy is just too ridiculous for its own good, and the characters feel like little more than caricatures of human stereotypes.
This doesn’t compliment the drama at all, most of which works incredibly well. The romance between Penny and Dodge is subtle, born partially out of necessity. If you don’t like romantic comedies, don’t worry – Seeking doesn’t exactly follow the typical formula.
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