92% Safety Not Guaranteed

All Critics (73) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (67) | Rotten (6)

Neatly, the script embarks on one journey while dangling the possibility of another: the prospect of taking a sudden leap from comic reality into the realm of pure imagination.

"Safety Not Guaranteed" is most vibrant and vital at its edges, in the way that the characters interact with each other while waiting for something to happen.

It's brisk and assured and never begs the audience's indulgence. No time is wasted. The movie is, at every moment, either funny or pushing the story forward, or both.

The film is modest but skillful and heartfelt, spiced just so by Plaza and company.

Safety Not Guaranteed casts an enchanting spell from its opening scene.

Expectedly funny but unexpectedly touching, too.

Have you ever wondered what mumblecore sci-fi would look like? Wonder no more.

Rather than trying to beat Hollywood at its own game of high-tech gadgets and weaponry, director Colin Trevorrow and writer Derek Connolly achieve a sly mix of the insane and the mundane.

A character-driven piece about regret and true partnership - our basic, primal need for someone to take the journey with us even if safety is not guaranteed.

Aubrey Plaza is the best thing about this iffy mock-sci-fi doohickey.

A strange, light-hearted bit of quasi-sci-fi, with no small amount of heart.

The material is played mostly for laughs and succeeds in that regard. The undercurrent of lament in Safety Not Guaranteed, though, is what holds the film together.

If safety isn't guaranteed by the film's title, a viewer's satisfaction with this genial, warm-hearted movie pretty much can be.

One central recasting and brutal editorial session away from being a lovely little short film, where its mystery and sentiment is more easily controlled and considered.

With its well-constructed screenplay, sharp dialogue and unapologetic sincerity, this first feature from former SNL interns Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly is its own act of nostalgia...

It should work for either fans of quirky romcoms or Aubrey Plaza.

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