I'm trying something a bit different to the other reviewers out there: a review + a doodle! I've posted a fair number, including one for Safety Not Guaranteed, which is a comedy. At least according to IMDb. I'm not so sure about that assertion.
http://sketchy-reviews.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/disappointment-of-weekdv d-review-safety.html
Thoughts/ruminations/random (ideally uncouth) comments, are very welcome.
There are no credible hurdles for these characters to overcome, no relationships that ring true, no arc on which they're taken. On a script level the film is inert.
You make your point clearly - something which the film did not. It leaps to that end conclusion but never believably carries us there. Darius and Kenneth lie to each other throughout. They're two of a kind, but they never do anything to earn each other's trust. The film jumps to the conclusion it needs and ignores the steps in-between. In my humble opinion.
shareMaybe it wasn't your brand of humor, but I thought it was really funny. It was exactly what I would expect from an Audrey Plaza movie.
What's wrong with Jeff being a likable character? At first he comes off as a jerk - bragging about nailing Bridget, obsessed with finding his old girlfriend, and he obviously rubs Kenneth the wrong way. If that's all we were supposed to think of him, his subplot would have ended there. The movie explores his time with Liz and "mentoring" of Arnau to show that he isn't so one dimensional. I'm not saying he's a saint, but certainly likeable. Everyone has good and bad qualities, Jeff is just transparent about them.
In my interpretation, the supposed lack of plot points and jumps in the story were a tool to ensure we didn't know what Kenneth's deal was. We didn't know if he was a lunatic, a liar, or a time traveler - or all of those things. Even at the end, we don't really know. All we know is that Darius accepts him. Darius' relationship with Kenneth marks a turning point because she's bonded with him in an intimate way, something she's clearly had trouble with in the past.
You mentioned thay they had no reason to trust, but I thought it was very clear that they recognized trauma in each other. He lost Belinda, she lost her mother. He was bullied for his ear, she was bullied for being hairy. They were both intelligent people with menial jobs who don't quite fit in with the "normals." How could they not be best friends?
Speaking of the ear, it's purpose was at first (at least for me) to lend itself to Kenneth being a time traveler. There's a scene early on where he adjusts his ear, and it immediately made me think "his cells are breaking down because of the time travel." But then it turns out it was just a prosthetic, making me think "well maybe he's crazy after all." It wasn't a forgotten sub plot, it was just a piece of evidence to keep us guessing along with Darius.
The only thing that really bothered me was the ineptitude of the investigators. They were so worthless. They only served to bring Darius back to reality and make her doubt Kenneth.
In any case, if you didn't enjoy this movie, that's your business. It certainly isn't for everyone. I think you may have oversimplified it though.