'I have only done this once before'?? - Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) Discussion

[–] beyalora 12 years ago

I have the exact same question. Do you think it has anything to do fixing the mess (maybe not) after he got arrested for breaking into that nuclear physics lab in Colorado as the agents claimed?

I wish someone can clear this doubt.

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[–] joelreitzloff 10 years ago

your sig is retarded. stop trying to be deep and brooding. stop thinking too much and just live.

i would say to take after bruce and "dont think, FEEL" but you'd even screw that up and "feel" too much.

go with dont think, period. just DO stuff without thinking. especially in between things, dont THINK

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[–] vicious2377 9 years ago

The signature could just be a quote that person liked. Honestly, if anything, your post is retarded. Get over your self, I hate to break it to you, but you're not that great.

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[–] UpSideSunny (104) 7 years ago

I am with vicious2377 on this. OP asked a legitimate question about the movie.

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[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

IMDB sigs are retarded. Having any sig is retarded. It would be so easy for imdb to tweak their html and put the sig below a line , or in a different colour , but no.
And now its all scraped onto this new site its too late.

So you spend a lot of time accidentally reading past the end of the post into the sig thinking "huh? that dosent make sense" ..... " oh guess that lame comment is that users 'sig'"

Case in point - beyaloara's line up there "I wish someone can clear this doubt." I *still* dont know if thats a sig or not - English might not be theuser first laguage and he/she might just expressing hope the question is answered ...

Then Joel starts shooting his wad off about it ....and then it was opnly 4 years ago.
What kind of idiot types a reply this size to a 4 year old post!

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[–] beyalora 12 years ago

In Kenneth's version of his back story, he and Belinda are together. In Belinda's version, they were never together. So could it be that the first time he went back in time, he basically did NOT hook up with her, was nice to her in general (something Belinda also confirms) and then drove his car into her boyfriend's kitchen. Obviously, he did not account for the fact that saving Belinda's life did not necessarily mean that he and her would be together. He never reveals his reason for going back in time the second time clearly. Maybe this time he wanted to go to ensure that Belinda and he hooked up? But later, because of Darius, he just 'updated' his mission.

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[–] king_of_bob 9 years ago

How much time do you think he would have spent in the past? Considering there would be two of him at the time.

Like I said to the OP, the first trip was most likely just a short jaunt into the past. A few minutes to a couple hours. Pretty sure the first trip couldn't take him back that far anyway. Otherwise he wouldn't have needed to keep stealing parts in order to make the machine he uses at the end of the movie, right?

His view of their relationship was a delusion, just like the way she "died." He made up a scenario in his mind because he couldn't cope with the reality of the situation.

Prof. Farnsworth: Oh. A lesson in not changing history from Mr. I'm-My-Own-Grandpa!

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[–] davebuffalo (3009) 4 years ago

His view of their relationship was a delusion, just like the way she "died." He made up a scenario in his mind .

I agree his view of their relationship was in his imagination, typical of "nerd meets hot girl", but she really did die, and she really did survive the crash because he changed it.

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[–] ferrisb1-1 12 years ago

The reason it's in the movie is because it is in the real (original) ad by John Silveira:

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/silveira125.html

So, of course, they are going to include it in the movie.

What is fun to speculate is how it fits into the story the movie presents.

Some believe, like the poster above this is when Kenneth first went back in time to prevent Belinda's death. Thus, she is alive (in the present), but HER memory of events has forever been altered and why it is not a plot hole Kenneth doesn't know she is alive, etc.

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[–] centralpzy 11 years ago

But if he had already gone back in time and saved his ex-girlfriend's life, why did he tell Darius(Aubrey Plaza's character) that his ex was dead and was killed by someone crashing a car into her living room ? He didnt go back into the past after that scene, so how did the past change in the meanwhile ?

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[–] d112cons 11 years ago

Spoilers dangit.

I think that Kenneth did go back once before, to try to save his ex. I think that - when Belinda tells Darius about when Kenneth crashing into her boyfriend's house - I'm guessing *that* was a time-travelling Kenneth on his first trip back. Crashing into the house was his attempt at disrupting whatever sequence of events would lead to her death. I'd be getting into some weird paradox-laden themes to keep on this thread, but basically he changed the timeline. In his memory - his timeline - he and Belinda were once a couple and in love and she died somehow. In the altered timeline (courtesy of Future-Kenneth, which everyone would think is just Kenneth), Belinda would not pursue a relationship with a guy who crashed a car into her boyfriend's house. This effectively ended their chances of love, which lead her away from a future with an imminent death.

In other words, it worked. Kenneth's 1st trip back saved Belinda's life. He didn't know it worked, because he was too paranoid of the FBI to risk investigating what became of Belinda. Not until Darius told him that she was alive and well.

Thus, Kenneth changed his "mission". He went back - with Darius - on her behalf.

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[–] mr-bryce 11 years ago

i think he went back once with whomever he got the technology from.
think doctor who and jack harkness.

there are a lot of explanations for belinda that dont require a first trip.
1. he could have done it just to save a life with darius's approval.
2. belinda could just be someone the men in black planted to fuel darius's distrust.

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[–] briggerz 11 years ago

2. belinda could just be someone the men in black planted to fuel darius's distrust.

Seeing as the "men in black" didnt even know he was building a time machine, why would that even happen?

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[–] king_of_bob 9 years ago

What you're saying does not make sense. The suggestion is that he saved her life by crashing HIS car into her house(which could just as easily have killed her)? But when he returned to the present he didn't bother to find out if it even worked?

Not to mention, if he could already go back that far with the first machine he built, why did he need to build another one to do it the second time?

In other words, it worked. Kenneth's 1st trip back saved Belinda's life. He didn't know it worked, because he was too paranoid of the FBI to risk investigating what became of Belinda.

That doesn't make ANY sense. Why would the FBI even care if he looked her up? They were only looking at him because he had factually broken into government facilities to steal equipment. It had nothing to do with Belinda.

Prof. Farnsworth: Oh. A lesson in not changing history from Mr. I'm-My-Own-Grandpa!

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[–] ali-mahdi 11 years ago

Why are we all assuming he was successful the first time he went "back" if he went back at all? I would like to think Kenneth did drive into Belinda's boyfriend's house out of jealous rage because he is kind of..you know... and then was rejected completely by Belinda. Years later he wants to fix it and if he did go back once before maybe he was unsuccessful since he couldn't interact with his younger self...that was one of his primary rules. He comes back and intends to go again to fix the mess but this time with a partner to help him when he feels insecure or his heart fails him( he says this in the video at the end of the film). As he falls in love with Darius he later changes his mission and decides to go to help Darius this time.
If you want to believe he didn't go the first time then the rest of the story still fits. He wants to go with a partner now to fix the mess he made but of course later changes his mind.
Obviously I am assuming he did lie about Belinda, he didn't tell Darius the truth because that would spook her off but I am sure he would have told her this eventually. Remember he wanted a partner he could trust fully?

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[–] Eponymous-too 11 years ago

He doesn't mention it for the same reason he kept everything else to himself until she absolutely needed to know. She didn't ask about it because she didn't believe he could time travel, but she didn't want him to know that.

"My name is Paikea Apirana, and I come from a long line of chiefs stretching all the way back to the Whale Rider."

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[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] malackow-516-713913 11 years ago

Nope. It's a plot-hole.

Certainly, Kenneth has never time-traveled before. Duh: He didn't have the materials he needed to build his "time machine" (a.k.a. "blue-glowy, magical movie-ruiner"), so he couldn't possibly have.

The ad is taken verbatim from a supposed real ad. (I say "supposed" because I don't believe anything I see on the internet.) The writers simply forgot to insert some clever line of expository dialogue to explain that nagging detail.

You can, I guess, concoct any sort of explanation you want. As one poster to this thread has already said, that's "fun." It's also, in my opinion, a telling sign of a fatally-flawed film. It's the film-makers' job to tell the story. Not the audience's job to fill in the blanks as they see fit.

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[–] Bemfactor7 11 years ago

Right. It's the filmmaker's job to spoon feed you everything and leave no room for discussion or interpretation by the audience. Just like all classic and revered theatre and literature throughout the ages.

Clown.

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[–] xrongor 11 years ago

wrong.

"in this world there's two kinds of people ... those with loaded guns, and those who dig."

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[–] veil182 11 years ago

Or he simply went back for a moment, machine malfunctioned, mission was a failure and the machine was damaged.

I think he is referring to everyone's time travel...the slow and inevitable leap forward!

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[–] OccamsBarber 10 years ago

You are everything that is wrong with American Mainstream Entertainment.

---
PS. You're still using a finite number of monkeys.

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[–] king_of_bob 9 years ago

Nope. It's a plot-hole.

It most certainly is not. Figure out what a plot hole is before you go making this claim in the future.

Certainly, Kenneth has never time-traveled before. Duh: He didn't have the materials he needed to build his "time machine" (a.k.a. "blue-glowy, magical movie-ruiner"), so he couldn't possibly have.

I disagree. I believe he did have a machine previously, but that it was only a prototype. The first trip was just a proof of concept. So he knew it would work. It seems to me that the first device was not powerful enough to send him back as far as he needed to, so he built a bigger better version, which is the one we see him use.

Prof. Farnsworth: Oh. A lesson in not changing history from Mr. I'm-My-Own-Grandpa!

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[–] valkyrie40205 11 years ago

Here's my theory. Shannon, the coworker at the grocery store went with him before. That's why he Darius was handing him the box full of money.

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[–] fg400a 11 years ago

I don't think so, he wasn't interested at all when Kenneth was talking with him about time travel theories. I think the money box was just a gift he gave him in case he never made it back.

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[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Jingleling 11 years ago

Im very sure its this:
The money was for the old mans wife. Its implied the wife is very ill.
Thats also why Darius looks at Kenneth in that new way: realizing what a great person he is.
That was the only good reason I could come up with anyway.

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[–] amedin23 11 years ago

Valkyrie40205, I think you are totally on to something. This makes sense to me.

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[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] willytom32-555-904213 11 years ago

I feel like everything Kenneth says has to be taken with a grain of salt.. He's not a perfect guy, he's a little weird, and he certainly exaggerates. Maybe he did lie about his old girlfriend, and maybe he never had time travelled before. It's not like he has to be either crazy or incredible, maybe he's a little of both. I think that's partly why Darius likes him.

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[–] king_of_bob 9 years ago

If he had never time traveled before, how was he so sure(and right) that it would work?

It's not like he has to be either crazy or incredible, maybe he's a little of both.

Indeed, the two things are not mutually exclusive.

Prof. Farnsworth: Oh. A lesson in not changing history from Mr. I'm-My-Own-Grandpa!

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[–] Scott-101 11 years ago

I think he did it once before but didn't do anything significant and it was more of a trial.

He wasn't BSing about the time machine, so I'm assuming, he wasn't BSing about anything else concerning the time travel backstory

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[–] realbullet 11 years ago

My take on this line is very simple. He traveled through time once before, just like we all do. This movie is about regret and how we would like to change some things in are past. We all have these moments in the past. It is also about "Do you travel alone or with a partner?" -- again this statement has nothing to do with traveling backwards in time.

Look, you're really cute, but I can't understand what you're saying.

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[–] kasey836844 11 years ago

He has travelled before.... Follow me...

I can only speculate that the truth behind Kenneth and Belinda's relationship is really a blend of both their accounts. It's easy to see how a socially awkward man such as Kenneth could build up a friendship to be more than it really was. Conversely it would be easy to see how Belinda may have been more than friends with Kenneth only to have her perception of him change. Therefore...

2001- a. He and Belinda are together, she is killed. (His given account)
HER ORIGINAL FATE.... A car struck the house she was in.

*Intervention* Future version steps in. She is NOT killed.

b. He and Belinda are just friends, he is crazy. (Her given account)
HER MODIFIED FATE.... His car struck the house she was in.

2012- He travels back, 1st attmept.
He "knows" 2001 "A" to be true. Living with grief and on the run,
he develpos a time machine to fix the past...

These efforts cause the events of 2001 "B". However he returns to
2012 unaware that his attempt at saving Belinda was successful
and he continues to live as if 2001 "A" was still in effect.

2012- He places the ad and recruits Darius. The film plays out just as we
see with her ultimately informing him that Belinda is still alive.

Let me edit this to say that I believe he was responsible for Belinda's death in 2001 "A" and is striving to fix that. The account of events he gives Darius is only a half truth in that he leaves out his responsibiltiy.

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[–] Fazio 11 years ago

Kasey, this is also what I choose to believe. In support of you last theory; Kenneth did say it was a "stupid a-hole musician" who crashed into the house - he played that zither thing and "stupid a-hole" could be interpreted as self-labelling for his mistake. If not, I reckon the time travel part is spot on anyway.

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[–] reddonkey8 10 years ago

Bingo. This is what I got. The "first time" he was the drunk driver who killed her. The second time, he undid his previous action. Only he remembers the alternate timeline.

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