2012, Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) -- Amazon
So, the movie is about an ad in a newspaper that some low graded "reporters" (really, two interns and a loser) are sent to investigate. Jeff (Jake Johnson, The Mummy) and the two interns, Darius (Aubrey Plaza, Legion) and Arnau (Karan Soni, Dead Pool) are sent to a small coastal California community to unravel the story. They start by staking out the PO Box, but Jeff has other ambitions, essentially to hook up with the girl of his fondest high school memories. He tasks Darius with infiltrating the world of Kenneth (Mark Duplass, Creep), the owner of the PO Box, and finding his story and/or time machine. Arnau sits in the background looking uncomfortable.
Darius succeeds, gaining Kenneth's trust, becoming his co-conspirator in his time travel escapade, which is to go back only one year to save his dead GF's life. But, as it should be, everything about his story is circumspect and not very believable. No matter, Darius finds kinship with this lost weirdo, as she is one herself -- duh, its Aubrey Plaza. But the story is complicated by the fact that men in black are following him.
Its a charming little movie, weird, quirky, small, endearing ... all the hallmarks of indie film making. And people loved it. I have been hearing about it for years, and there was a time when I would have fallen for it completely. Alas, I am old and jaded. It's a fine movie, it's fine. The performances are great, the stories played through well enough but ... well, I am the first to say that a movie doesn't have to always make bold statements about things, but I kind of felt this movie ... should have ? The time travel is a backdrop, more a macguffin to motivate the situation than anything. And yet... If anything, its another from the list of movies I felt I Should See.
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