Movie review: Thinking of the end in 'Seeking a Friend for the End of the World'

In the apocalyptic rom-com “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” we are asked a simple question: What would you do if the world were to end? 

 

Now obviously most of us would want to suit up in astronaut gear and try to change the course of the asteroid, or strap into a fighter jet to engage the incoming alien hordes, or bring out our sawed-off shotguns and katanas and charge into the gang of rampaging zombies down the street. But in reality, how would we the normal, we of the mundane and everyday, handle it? 

 

Steven Soderbergh’s “Contagion,” which wasn’t watched locally as much as it should have been, could have been read as an apocalyptic text because it did have a disease that had the potential to wipe out lots of people. As such I think it’s another film to look at when thinking of human reaction. One of the most chilling sequences in that film is when people in a suburban town start looting and rioting as a result of panic. 

 

We are witness to a similar scene in “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World,” which prompts the road trip that serves as the central driving momentum of this film. Two things come up when one thinks of the rioting mob, a similar thought too when one thinks of, say, a zombie horde. First is that we always assume that were something like this to happen, we would of course never be part of that mob or horde. But then the second thought is, well, what makes us so different that we would not fall to the hysteria? There is nothing in our lives or situations that would ensure that we would not react that way. 

 

So assuming that you can avoid falling into the mass public hysteria, what do you do? Steve Carrell’s character Dodge decides to go looking for the love of his life, the one who got away. Really? Really? For a middle-aged man who should have a pretty good grasp of reality, you would think that he would think of something much better to do. Then again because he is undertaking the journey with the hopeless romantic Penny, played by Keira Knightley, it would seem that he is swept away, as well as infected with romanticism. 

 

I generally liked the film, but I could not help but think that I probably did because I’m just about as hopeless as Penny when it comes to this pursuit of romantic love. But I don’t think the general idea would appeal to most people. Another thing other people might find appalling is that Penny chooses not to spend her last days with her family because she is also looking for love, or something like it.

 

So let’s say you don’t go looking for the love of your life when all the world’s in shambles. What is there to do?

 

What jumps to mind immediately is Burgess Meredith’s banker in the “Twilight Zone” episode “Time Enough at Last” who, as the title implies, finally finds the time to catch up on his reading. The twist at the end stands as a great tragic moment, which deserves some checking out if you haven’t seen it yet. I think if I found out, maybe I would finally find the time to read those great thick Russian novels before they are exploded out of existence. 

 

But from “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” we see another totally plausible reaction from the middle class suburban family that Dodge is friends with. The suburbanites show up and party like, well, like there’s no tomorrow. You see them getting plastered, looking to screw, and in a very funny shot, gathering around to shoot up heroin. Makes sense to me. Shoot, I don’t want to use heroin even though I’ve heard it feels great. But when there are no consequences to consider, why not? Even funnier is this sequence where Patton Oswalt’s character just talks about how with the world ending he is scoring women like never before. Yet another brilliant way to spend the end. 

 

All in all though, this movie does offer me one way that I would love to spend the end of the world. That’s with Keira Knightley. Sure, I know, I should come up with something much smarter than that. But her Penny is so convincing, so honest and tangible, that one would hope that such a person would be around to make the end at the least tolerable. Which brings us to possibly the smarter thing. Like a road trip, the end of the world isn’t so much about how you go or where you’re going to, it’s about who you’re spending it with. With the horde? With your family? With the love of your life? Perhaps that’s what might define us, what might set us apart. –KG, GMA News The views expressed in this article are the author's own.