Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

We've seen dramatic and extreme post-apocalyptic thrillers almost as many times as we've survived the Rapture, and it is hard to imagine that anyone can interpret the theme in a way that would make a movie more enjoyable. However, none of the previous films starred Steve Carrell or stayed completely in the pre-apocalyptic world. As it turns out, these two facts make a huge difference.

Dodge (Carrell) learns that nothing can be done to prevent the imminent destruction of the world while in the car with his wife, Linda (Nancy Carrell, formerly Nancy Walls and hilarious without saying a word). Linda then literally runs away, and so begins the story of Dodge's terrible misfortune. He is a modern-day adult version of Charlie Brown – likable, but not extraordinary in any sense except for his ability to attract sadness. Seeking then shows how everyone else is coping with the news, and Dodge doesn't seem very interested in surfing, sex, or suicide, so he just meanders through the madness sipping his cough syrup. He probably would have done that for the entire three weeks left of his life were it not for a his neighbor Penny (Keira Knightley), a flighty girl trying to get a flight back to her family in England. The two escape a riot (and Penny's loser boyfriend, perfectly played by Adam Brody) and set out on an adventure so that Dodge can say goodbye to his high school sweetheart and Penny can get to England by way of Dodge's friend who owns a plane.

The commercials portray this film as more of a comedy, and it is delightfully funny in some spots, but this film is far more emotionally and intellectually stimulating than it is amusing. I remember thinking at the end of 2005's War of the Worlds, "I wish they had spent more time focusing on humanity." The human experience of facing the end of life is so complex and so unique to every individual, and Director Loren Scafaria succeeds in showing the despair, decadence, and delusions that people would definitely be wrapped up in were this to occur in real life.

Carrell is brilliant as usual with his effortless self-effacing humor. He seems to have worked on his deadpan skills as his funniest moments include reacting to crazy events with a blank stare or monotone comment. Knightley manages to be an effervescent and bubbly realist without being annoying, which makes Penny a completely plausible running buddy for Dodge, who can't take much more agitation. These two stars have a chemistry that allows Dodge to come out of his shell and live the last days of his life the way he wished he had lived all along. A few people live in less inspiring ways to awesome comedic effect. Elsa, Dodge's housekeeper, still diligently comes to clean his house and even instructs him to get more "Windows" while shaking a nearly empty bottle of glass cleaner. Warren (fellow Daily Show alum Rob Corddry) celebrates the end of responsibility by boozing it up and sharing his drinks freely, even with little kids. These scenes, however, are merely distractions from how Dodge and Penny learn more than they ever imagined about life and the world simply because it is all coming to an end. Despite the hokey-ness, I must admit that I got teary-eyed as the characters realized what matters most.

Focus Features does a great job of producing equally thought-provoking and heartstring-pulling films and Seeking is no exception. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and with any luck, you'll leave the theater thankful that you most likely have more than three weeks to make the most of your life.

Everyone knows about the calm that happens before the storm. In "Seeking A Friend for the End of the World", what's amazing is just how long that calm lasts.

Throughout the first part of this film, you can't help but wonder, as you watch, how you would react if you heard nonchalant reports on radio and TV about a 70-mile wide asteroid heading for Earth and destroying life as we know it. Would you seek refuge in a fallout shelter and hope for the best, or say "To hell with it!" and do all the things you couldn't do when there was established order with a purpose?

Dodge (Steve Carell) seems to find a third option no one else even tries to consider: sitting calmly and maintaining his own order as virtually everyone else is participating in an orgy or a riot. While being calm works for him as a survival instinct, it also reflects his loneliness. The more people surrounding him, the lonelier he seems.

Very similar to Bill Murray's character in "Lost In Translation", Carell is great at conveying so much despite doing so little. It becomes all the more fascinating when he's the only character in the movie who does not throw caution into the wind. After all, would you be this calm if the world was going to end?

Keira Knightley is Penny, a vibrant but distraught British woman who lives in the same building as Dodge. She appears one night outside his window, and is frantically crying after her realization that she can't fly back home to Great Britain to see her family. Knightley serves as a great contrast to Carell in many ways, and she is a welcome presence in this movie. And I am SO glad the film didn't try to cover her sweet British accent.

The film evolves into a sort of road-trip movie when a riot ensues outside their apartment building, and Dodge persuades Penny to drive to Somerset, Delaware because he knows someone who owns an airplane. As it turns out, Dodge also had a high school girlfriend who wrote to him a few months earlier, before his wife left him.

Sounds like a familiar journey from another movie? Well, "Seeking A Friend For The End of the World" takes you in one direction you think you're going, and then often makes a sharp left when you least expect it. The movie is also funnier than the title suggests, has some startling moments I never saw coming nor expected, and keeps you watching for many reasons.

Is there a love story between Dodge and Penny? Like the recent "Salmon Fishing In The Yemen" (2012), you find yourself unsure if the two main characters should fall in love, or if there is at least a little attraction, or if it really makes any difference.

There are other things you wonder while watching this movie. Most notably, is the world really going to end? Everyone in this movie seems to think so. While it's fascinating to see how different characters react to the news, you keep watching because you want to see if it really does. It can't be a dream or a delusion, can it?

It's great that in a summer season of action flicks and disaster films, there's one film that takes its time showing how ordinary people react to extraordinary things. There's an asteroid headed towards Earth, but there are no explosions, deaths, astronauts, superheroes, or even (surprisingly) camera shots of the sky in this movie whatsoever. Moviegoers who hated "Armageddon" (1998) will be relieved, I'm sure.

Besides Carell and Knightley, other fairly well-known actors show up so briefly, their appearances could practically be considered cameos. Still, every performance by everyone involved stays with you to the point where you probably pinpoint one character and say, "Yeah, I'd probably be THAT guy given the circumstances". As the doomsday clock counts down and the movie ends, you may find yourself reevaluating what you want the last image in your mind to be before it's all over.

It's rare that I rate a movie this highly. No doubt many will disagree with this rating and I admit to having some doubts myself. I had to ignore the fact that Keira Knightly was miscast in the role of Dodge's (Steve Carell) friend, Penny. As I've mentioned in other reviews, she always seems to be overacting. This may be a personal thing as I'm sure others are enthralled by her work. Martin Sheen is not convincing as Dodge's father. The plot has some problematic moments.

These negatives aside, this is a movie driven by a compelling idea: What would you do if you had only three weeks to live? Well, some resort to taking drugs, others to sex, and others to suicide. Some persevere with dignity to the end. The absurdity of life and the value of death is highlighted, as strange as this may sound. Death puts life into its proper perspective. On the surface, this film has many elements of a romantic comedy and some may dismiss it as such. But look past the surface of this film and you will begin to appreciate it much more.

Of course, we are all facing the end of our own worlds, maybe not in three weeks or en masse, as is portrayed here, but through our individual mortality. Would you continue to work out, visit your dentist, or mow the lawn if you knew it was all soon coming to an end? Basically, the film looks at what in life is truly important. What is worth living for? Who would you want to spend those last moments with and why aren't you spending time with them now? Because this movie brings such existential topics into focus, I think it deserves an above average rating. Don't think of this as a grim, realistic look at life. There is a good deal of humor here. You'll have a few laughs, which, I believe, help to highlight the film's more serious elements.

My opinion of Steve Carrell has been on the rise ever since he starred in Dan in Real Life. In Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, he plays the role of a down and out loser to perfection.

In short, if you are seeking a movie to watch with a friend, this should be your choice. You'll have much to discuss afterwards. It may even make you re-evaluate what you have accepted as being important. Time is, after all, running out.

Watching an American picture about the end of the world and finding that there is no concentration on things blowing up and exploding came as a welcome relief if not a surprise.

This film is a little gem of a black comedy with some drama and romanticism thrown in.

I only recognised two or three faces - but everyone of the players is good and the two leads are superb. The male lead is of a character not usually associated with the romantic and this brings out more of the warmth.

Quirky, offbeat, lovable, zany and intelligent are some of the words I would use to describe this entertainment - and entertain it certainly does.

If this picture comes this way - grab it, you will love it.

Armageddon, doomsday, the final apocalypse. Ever since the beginning of time man has wondered how it will all end. Another great flood, a nuclear war or in this case an asteroid. Filmmakers have always done their best to exploit this basic fear we have of the termination of our existence in movies like Fail Safe, On The Beach and The Day After. I put this film right up there with them because of the awesome performances of Steve Carell and Keira Knightley as our hero and heroine who we know are doomed from the start. I have always admired Carell as a comic (Get Smart, Date Night). However, he proves here that he can handle drama with the rest of them as does Knightley. They both have very powerful monologues in this film where they talk of their lonely lives. Its so ironic that they both find joy and love in life when they are on the very edge of death.