Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Plot synopsis:
A broadcast announces that a seventy mile wide asteroid nicknamed 'Matilda' is on a collision course with Earth and that a last-ditch effort to destroy it has failed. The world has three weeks until impact, at which time all of humanity will be wiped out. Dodge Petersen (Steve Carell) and his wife, Linda (Nancy Carell), listen to the announcement (voice of Brad Morris) from their car radio at the side of the road. Seconds later, and without saying a word to him, Linda flees the vehicle.The next day, Dodge returns to a near empty workplace where he sells insurance. While everyone around him has reacted differently to the impending doom by either indulging in drugs or engaging in guilt-free sex, Dodge's life remains the same. Even the absence of his wife cannot shake the stagnant predictability of it. His housekeeper, Elsa (Tonita Castro), continues to show up at his apartment to clean despite Dodge's insistence that there is no further need to do so.After attending a friend's party, Dodge returns home and reminisces about his high school sweetheart, Olivia. He then notices his neighbor Penny (Keira Knightley) crying on the fire escape. She admits to him that she has just ended her relationship with her boyfriend Owen (Adam Brody) because he caused her to miss the last flight to England to see her family. Returning to her apartment, Penny gives Dodge a handful of mail she received for him but kept forgetting to deliver - indirectly telling him that Linda was having an affair.Dodge storms off into the night, guzzling cough syrup and Windex in an attempt to kill himself. The next morning, however, he regains consciousness and finds a note on his sweater reading "Sorry" accompanied by a dog (Aleister) tethered to his foot. He takes Sorry home and opens the rest of his mail where he is surprised to find a letter from Olivia. That night, a riot breaks out nearby. When a brick is thrown through his window, Dodge grabs Sorry and heads to Penny's apartment, urging she and Owen to leave with him. Penny rushes to grab her record collection and she and Owen follow him downstairs and outside to Penny's car...that has been boxed in by other cars. Owen steps out to give Penny guidance but impatiently berates her for what he sees as poor driving. Irritated and with the rioters quickly approaching, Penny slams on the gas, knocking the car in front of her out of the way and abandoning Owen. She tells a bewildered Dodge that Owen will be fine - as we see Owen pick up and throw a rock as he gets swept up in the riot.They drive out of town to avoid the riots, and Dodge tells Penny that, if she can drive him to find his high school sweetheart, he will take her to someone who can fly her to England to see her family. She agrees, however the car runs out of gas and Dodge and Penny are left to walk. Frustrated by the situation, Dodge snaps at Penny for failing to give him his mail in a timely manner, seeing that it would have given him all the time he needed to find Olivia. Feeling guilty for 'ruining his life', Penny hails an oncoming vehicle to take them to their respective destinations. The kindly trucker (William Petersen) picks them up and regales the couple with his life story. During a pit stop, Penny exits the truck and the trucker confronts Dodge on 'how he's going to do it'. He makes light of Dodge's confusion and is about to explain that he's hired an assassin to have himself killed. No sooner has he said this, when a bullet smashes through the front windshield and hits the trucker cleanly through the neck. Dodge watches as the assassin's car speeds off.Dodge and Penny bury the trucker and decide to take his truck further on...however they neglected to take the car keys out of the man's pocket, so they have to dig him up to get the keys. On the road again, they find a restaurant by the name of Friendsy's which appears to be alive with patrons. Hungry, Dodge and Penny enter and find the place buzzing with optimism and good cheer. Their host, Darcy T.J. Miller), cheerfully takes them to their table where Penny fibs that it's Dodge's birthday. The entire staff celebrates and Penny and Dodge are given inventive drinks and dishes, including a burger with a donut as a bun. After everyone sings the Friendsy's Birthday Song to Dodge, he get birthday kisses from the waitresses. Then so does Penny. As one of the waitresses drops to her knees under the table, Penny and Dodge run from the restaurant as everyone gets even friskier, including Darcy and waitress Katie (Gillian Jacobs).Penny and Dodge make it, laughing, to the truck and, on the spur of the moment, begin to make out and have sex. As they drive off, Dodge regrets his actions with a woman so young (Penny admits she's only 28) but she tells him it was merely end-of-the-world, casual sex. Soon after, they are pulled over by a policeman (Bob Stephenson), only when Dodge insists as Penny would rather try to outrun him. The officer demands to see Penny's license and registration despite her eloquent explanation to their predicament. When she admits that she has none of the required paperwork, the two are locked up in a holding cell at the station. The next morning, they are found by another officer (Jim O'Heir) who sympathetically releases them, cursing his subordinate for taking his quota too seriously. He gives them a lift to Camden where Penny's ex-boyfriend lives. He is named Speck (Derek Luke), a muscular, young military man who shows Penny and Dodge his titanium-walled shelter beneath his house. It is stocked with 6 month's worth of food and enough entertainment to last a lifetime. Speck is confident that his shelter will provide safety to survive the apocalypse for he and a few close friends. Penny notices a satellite phone, and Speck offers to let her call her family. While she is tearfully reunited with her parents and siblings over the phone, Speck bluntly tells Dodge that his company is no longer needed. Penny can stay, but he has to go. They need a healthy, young female to restart the human race.Penny requests from Speck one of his smart cars so that she can drive Dodge to where he needs to go. Speck agrees and makes her promise to return. Penny and Dodge track down Olivia's last known residence but the house is empty. Penny forces their entry and they find the home devoid of any inhabitants but stocked with food. They stay overnight and Penny plays some of her records on an old player they find. She also finds a letter from Olivia to her parents inside a kitchen drawer and sadly presents it to Dodge. Dodge says that the return address is not too far away. The next morning, they drive out to the house where Dodge walks up to the door alone before quickly returning to the car and driving off. Confused, Penny asks what happened. Dodge tells her that it appeared Olivia was home but he simply left her a letter on the doorstep.As they drive away, they nearly collide with a stream of couples and families crossing the road and making their way to a nearby beach. Dodge and Penny take Sorry and follow the assembly to the water's edge where each person is baptized under the hot sun. Standing on the shore, Dodge and Penny kiss, reaffirming their feelings for each other and, as the sun sets, they join the other people as they light bonfires and spend the waning hours playing music and socializing. Dodge teaches Penny how to play the harmonica before they return to the car.They continue on to Somerset County and stop at an isolated house. Dodge brings Penny to the door and they greet Frank (Martin Sheen) who recognizes Dodge and lets them in. He then reveals himself to be Dodge's estranged father, whom Dodge has not seen in twenty-five years. Penny is overwhelmed to meet him. While Penny freshens up before dinner, Dodge and Frank have a mild argument over Frank's absence in Dodge's life. Frank apologizes and, they reconcile.They all share a meal together and catch up on the time lost. After Penny falls asleep, Dodge carefully carries her outside where Frank is waiting in his plane to take her to England. Dodge rests her in the cockpit and gives her his harmonica as a keepsake, gingerly kissing her on the forehead and whispering that she is the love of his life. Dodge then shuts the door, nods to his father, and watches the plane fly away.He returns home to find Elsa in his apartment cleaning and she cheerily greets him. He angrily yells at her, telling her to go home to her family but, after seeing her confusion and despondence, apologizes for his outburst and tells her to forget it. She asks if she will see him the next week and leaves. Dodge turns on the television where the news anchorman (Mark Moses) announces that 'Matilda' is due to arrive prematurely and that only sixteen hours remain until impact. The anchorman thanks his audience for their attention before leaving to go home to his family, a statement that touches Dodge.Dodge goes to Penny's apartment and lies down on the floor, listening to her records before the power goes out. When he gets up, he finds Penny standing in the dark living room and she asks him how he could have left her. He admits that it was a stupid thing to do before they tearfully embrace. Shortly after, they lie in bed and Dodge asks Penny why she didn't go to her family. She tells him that her parents are romantics and will understand why she couldn't leave without Dodge. They talk about how things might have been between them if they'd known each other longer and Penny begins to panic as time grows short. Dodge calmly asks about her childhood and Penny tells him of her siblings and late sister, Patricia, as the first boom of impact sounds. Penny begins to cry and tells Dodge she's scared and wishes they could have saved each other. Dodge assures her that they did and smiles warmly at her. Penny smiles back, unafraid, as the screen brightens to white - then fades to black.

Tags: dark, comedy, depressing, clever, romantic, sentimental

Review:
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.
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.
To give you a quick synopsis, our protagonist, Dodge, teams up with the overly optimistic and happy-go-lucky Penny, a fellow apartment complex resident, to travel to his high school sweetheart's house to tie loose ends before the world comes to an apocalyptic close.Steve Carell truly nailed his performance.
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.
"Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" turned out to be a very beautiful and emotional movie, with just a pinch of great comedy added to spice it up.The story is about the end of days approaching as an asteroid is bound for Earth, and will destroy the planet upon impact.
Dodge (played by Steve Carell) finds himself abandoned by his wife upon this news and tries to go on with his life for the last 21 days before the world comes to end.
Their journey proves to be more than life changing.The storyline for "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" was really great, and bizarre wonderful in a weird way.
As was Keira Knightley, and their chemistry on the screen was just sizzling.The movie also boasts some rather great cameo appearances, all of whom really helped adding to the movie, by actors and actresses such as Rob Corddry, Patton Oswalt, William Petersen and, of course, Martin Sheen."Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" is a definite to-watch-movie for any movie aficionado, because it is very beautiful and moving in many ways.
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.
The way the low-key almost matter-of-fact radio and television announcers give us snippets of information about Armageddon spiced with little gems of mundanes like "don't forget to change the clocks" hours before the end of the world really call the tone of this wonderful film.
I saw this with my mom and even though I felt certain she would have liked the odd mixture of super dark comedy with somewhat typical "steve carell is lovesick" brand romantic comedy (which the film threatens to become in the last half but somehow manages to starve off somewhat) but she did not care for it at all calling it way too depressing, and that not even the sweetness could hide the sourness of that first half.
(Her immediate words after the end credits came up were "well that was cheerful Matthew, thanks for dragging me to this one") I on the other hand quite enjoyed how completely and totally dark that first half hour is, and how the flashes of darkness that pop up throughout the film as it goes on the more conventional Lovelorn Steve Carrell falls in love path manage to bring the film tonally back in line with that first half hour, so that even when the film turns into a somewhat off beat romantic comedy--the tone at least remains consistent.
(and if you don't think he does a great job here---see his monologue in the jail cell a little over an hour in--that is one heartbreaking monologue and he's wonderful delivering it in his own quiet way.) Its not a perfect film, but whatever flaws you can throw at it---the storyline's not the most well thought out, things seem to happen and then not happen as if on cue--how does Carrell manage to end up back at his apt and finding it in one piece after badly needing to leave it lest he be destroyed along with it???) whatever flaws you can throw at it i think can be met with a shrug and a dismissal if only because Carrell, Knightley, and that dark, bittersweet tone more than compensate for any scratches along the way.
There are millions of different answers, my answer is to be with my girlfriend/significant other, both of us would go on a trip and have a good time while with each other.I really like how the film is set up it almost reminds me a bit of the underrated 80's gem "Miricle Mile" which was also about a couple facing the final minutes on Earth while trying to survive the chaos.
The fact the world will end doesn't even faze him because literally doesn't have much of a life but worst of all no one.One of my favorite actresses (and whom I think is fraking hot in my book anyway) Keira Knightly is just great what's interesting is that this is kinda the first comedy she in and she is surprisingly funny.
Which makes this all the more sad because you care so much you don't want both of them to die, you don't want the world to end, but there's nothing you can do about it.If there is a lesson in this film it's simply "Carpe Diem" translation Seaze the Day. Whatever you want to do the most in life, do it now because no of us have as much time as we think.
"Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" brings doomsday into romantic comedy territory and the resulting story has all kinds of notes, from humorous to romantic to downright dramatic.It's a mess of moods fitting of the apocalypse, even if we prefer our films to be more uniform in their genres.
Lorene Scafaria (writer of "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist") tries to stitch them all together in her directorial debut, and while the seams could be less apparent, "Seeking a Friend" makes solid patchwork of some strong individual scenes and performances.Who better to lead a film about literally hopeless romance than Steve Carell, whose character Dodge watches as his wife (a cameo by Carell's actual wife, Nancy) bolts from the car and runs away forever as soon as Earth's prognosis hits the radio.
Thus begins Act I, the comedy portion of the film.Scafaria does a conscientious job imagining how affluent 40-somethings as well as other types would react knowing the world was set to end in three weeks time.
As a whole, it offers film's most realistic look to date at how normal people would behave in this situation, yet as the romantic and dramatic elements build, some character motivations and feelings come into question, even though the actors are so convincing.Boiled down, "Seeking a Friend" offers a true change of pace for the genre led by two strong actors you'd never expect to work together.
There reaches a very specific point, however, at which Seeking a Friend for the End of the World finally morphs into the affecting drama promised by the setup, and the movie subsequently becomes more and more engrossing in the build-up to its emotionally-wrenching finale - with the irresistibly romantic bent of Dodge and Penny's relationship ensuring that the film, in the end, makes a far more pronounced impact on the viewer than one might have reasonably expected.I must admit I am a fan of both Carell and Knightly.
'SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)Steve Carell and Keira Knightley are kind of oddly matched for this romantic comedy disaster film.
The performances are all topnotch (Corddry is absolutely hilarious in his scene stealing small role) and despite Carell and Knightley seeming like an odd romantic pairing they actually have quite a bit of chemistry, which is the main driving force to the film (like with all good romances).
After having just watched this terribly disappointing movie(all the way to the end) I feel compelled to say that it has taken(i.e., stolen) many of its key ideas & characters from one of my favorite films of the last 15 years: Last Night(1998) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0156729/ and watered it all down with a rather sappy treatment of what was otherwise great material.
Granted that this film didn't really exhaust a huge budget, it did enough to present the last three weeks of mankind, both the good aspects, and the worst of it.And Lorene Scafaria does it through the use of two primary characters in Steve Carell's Dodge and Keira Knightley's Penny, two neighbours who didn't know of each other's existence, until all hell breaks loose, and through chance, discover that they can click.
Dodge's wife Linda (Nancy Carell, Steve's real life wife) decided to just literally run away when all hope is lost, and leaves Dodge in quite the dejected state, not knowing why his marriage vows didn't last through to the end, and reminisces about his high school sweetheart who actually got away.
What I liked about it is that it didn't try to be deliberately funny, but humour comes and exists only because that's probably the most light hearted manner to approach known annihilation given a preparatory lead time.I had enjoyed the films that Steve Carell had starred in, but I especially enjoy the more dramatic characters he portrays, such as the titular character in Dan in Real Life, or even Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Scafaria's tale evolved from its premise, exploring mortality and morality, before scoping it down to a more intimate portrait about two strangers who find friendship and love, and thankfully these two actors made it oh so believable, and sweet, although there were times, given the script, that the mid-section felt bogged down by its conversations.Still, it's that aged old reminder about never leaving behind regrets that's wrapped around by the narrative, and the finale really sledgehammered emotions through with the introduction of Martin Sheen's character, that one will inevitably tear as it reaches its conclusion, coupled with that final parting by Mark Moses' television anchorman who pops up at random scenes as a checkpoint within those 3 weeks.
It avoids all the cliché and whimsical takes on the disaster movies of the '90's and keeps the story centered in character development.I was moved repeatedly by a wonderful story and perfectly placed diagetic music by such genius musicians such as Scott Walker and Burt Bacharach.This is a must see, ignore all morons who only possess an I.Q. only sufficient to appreciate Anchor Man (though I love that movie) or a Michael Bay film (I can't say anything positive about Bay); these people will roundly hate it because it is actually original and intelligently written.
"Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" is a movie with an intriguing title and two great lead couple, Steve Carell and the gorgeous and talented Keira Knightley.
The film opens with Dodge (Steve Carell) and his wife discovering that the last efforts to save earth from an impending meteor have failed and that the world will end in three weeks.
While I have no issue with the high concept plot of the film, character actions that make no sense (such as why people are still showing up to work when the world is about to end) make it hard to get sucked into the film or care about any character other than Dodge.All in all, the film falls closer to the Dan in Real Life side of things than Little Miss Sunshine..
I did not care who ended up with who at the end of the world, because I knew I would not want to be anywhere near Keira Knightley's annoying flaky character or the miserable Steve Carell.At the end of the film I was still struggling to decide its genre as neither its comedic, dramatic nor romantic aspects were strong enough to warrant the label.
Looking away from the screen for a five minutes you could return either to the same conversation you lost interest in or have missed most of a scene with a new set of characters who, rather than add background to the story, merely prolonged the agony.In short, the only reason I stayed to the end was because I hoped the film would show the characters being graphically blown to pieces by the meteor..
I think Carrell brought this movie down.I would have spent more time on what people do in the face of doom and make the two characters come together through a series of funny moments dodging idiots and thrill seekers as the asteroid approaches.
Steve Carell plays once again a serious role of a depressed guy as he did in Little Miss Sunshine, this time with a good reason, the world is about to end.
I'm not a huge Steve Carell doing comedy fan but I did like him in Crazy Stupid Love, and he was quite likable in this as he's better as this sort of character, I think.
I have mixed feelings about Keira Knightley; she is a great actress but I find her facial expressions and mannerisms annoying but there were portions of acting genius on her part in this.This is about an impending meteor strike on the earth, which will end the world, and how everyone deals with it namely Dodge (Carell) and Penny (Knightley).
but then you realize that the character chosen to be the lead is a sad loser, a no personality coward douche, well, the whole idea of the movie becomes a ghost, and you end up watching a boring story about a really annoying and pathetic guy living some kind of undeserved redemption with a hot girl that inexplicably joins this dull man on a ridiculous search...
Seeing as the movie starts like this, I was prepared for a hell of a ride but I was shocked at the sudden change in pace in the second and third act.Steve Carrell does an appropriate job at representing a somewhat sad guy who really doesn't care too much about his own happiness and Keira does a much better job with emotions for a messy girl who has to live the end of the world alone.
Characters behave very normally the majority of the time and they don't seemed shocked, at least not up until the last moment and that for me, takes away a lot of important aspects of the circumstances they are in that could gone a lot better.The movie really slows down in the second act, up to the point of being somewhat repetitive and the dialog is way too much for something as important as the end of the world.
It turns from an end of the world movie to just a "road movie" for the vast majority of the time.Director seems to get a lot more attention to dialog than emotions and images, so, for me, this takes a lot away from my personal interest.See, I don't consider dialog that important in a movie, because images, expressions and looks, they tend to represent a much more important aspect of emotions between characters, something the director does not want or does not know how to properly show.There are a couple of some very special moments, funny enough, they worked because they stop talking...
But in it's execution in this film felt hollow and wooden.The story goes the world will end in 3 weeks, and Dodge (played by Steve Carrell) wife has left him and his ditsy neighbor (Keira Knightley) has just handed him a letter form the girl that got away.
the story was hampered by a plot device involving Knightley's character certain sleeping habits that were only used at certain appropriate or for the characters inappropriate times.The film does give us a slightly humorous look at the final days before a possible worlds end.
I think the best part is the movie's way of making the end of the world seem to real.
They know the day of their death and are trying to make it a good one.Now, if you, like me, were just a bit more inclined to watch the film because of the apocalyptic ending, just don't.
So when I saw he was one of the two major actors in Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World I had already wondered if this movie was worth a trip.
She wants to see her family again and he has the opportunity to rekindle the spark with the love of his life decades after they parted.Seeking a Friend for the End of the World succeeds because of a smooth, thoughtful and at times funny screenplay, by Lorene Scafaria, that has been directed sensitively (Scafaria again) and performed by an excellent cast led by Steve Carell and Keira Knightley.
I don't think I've ever seen a movie quite like this before, a comedy about the end of the world?