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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
A sweet and subtle love story, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World begins when Dodge (Steve Carell) watches his wife run away from him because she's just learned that an asteroid is going to destroy the Earth. Dodge finds himself unmoored in a world that's lost its bearings in a much bigger way; some people surrender to hedonism, some cling to the mundane patterns of their lives, and others just kill themselves. Then Dodge is given one last chance at meaning in his life: a neighbor named Penny (Keira Knightley) reveals that she's failed to give him some of his misdirected mail… including a letter from his cherished high school sweetheart, who reveals he was the love of her life. As civilization falls apart around them, Dodge and Penny set off on a road trip to reunite Penny with her family and Dodge with his lost love. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World could have been broad and goofy, but instead the movie takes the scenario seriously (without, mind you, losing its sense of humor). Dodge and Penny discover that their lives, disconnected from a possible future, aren't what they were, and the result is both comic and surprisingly heartfelt. An impressive supporting cast--including Patton Oswalt, Connie Britton, Derek Luke, William Petersen, Rob Corddry, Gillian Jacobs, T.J. Miller, Adam Brody, Melanie Lynskey, and more--fleshes out this world of lost souls. --Bret Fetzer
Product Description
Steve Carell and Keira Knightley lead an all-star cast in this clever and heartwarming comedy that explores the crazy things people do when humanity's last days are at hand. Set in a too-near future, two neighbors, Dodge (Carell) and Penny (Knightley), react in their own unique ways to the announcement that a 70-mile-wide asteroid is en route to the Earth. He wants to return to his first love. She just wants to get back to her family. As the unlikely companions' respective journeys converge, their outlooks - if not the world's - brighten in surprising and hilarious ways. The feature directorial debut of screenwriter Lorene Scafaria (Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist), Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is being hailed as "funny and wonderfully poetic! Steve Carell and Keira Knightley are superb." (Claudia Puig, USA Today)
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
97 of 107 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Earlier this year there was "Melancholia", the ambitious and at times entertaining but also pretentious take on "the end of the world" as envisioned by director Lars von Trier, and now we get a completely different perspective on the very same topic, as written and directed by Lorene Scafaria.
"Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" (95 min.) starts off brilliantily. In the first minute of the movie we see Dodge (played by Steve Carell) and his wife sitting in the car, listening to the radio announcement that asteroid 'Matilda' cannot be stopped and will hit earth in 3 weeks, ending life as we know it. Dodge's wife looks at him, and then leaves the car, literally running away from him. What a beginning! Dodge eventually meets Penny (played by Kiera Knightley), and regardless of their age difference, they strike a friendship. Dodge and Penny hit the road, among others to look up Dodge's HS sweetheart and to find a plane for penny so she can rejoin her family in England. I don't want to give away much more of the plot, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out, but let's just say things don't pan out exactly as Dodge and Penny thought they would.
This is an outstanding movie from start to finish. In the midst of all the numbing summer blockbusters that Hollywood unleaches upon us, here's actually a movie that actually speaks to me. At times I laughed, at times I teared up, and the movie went by in the blink of an eye. I don't know that Steve Carell has ever been better than here, playing the "Joe Six-Pack" average guy with even more restraint (and that's a compliment). Kudos also to Kiera Kightley. Likewise for the oustanding soundtrack (I may never listen to the Hollies "The Air That I Breathe" in the same way again).... Read more ›
"Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" (95 min.) starts off brilliantily. In the first minute of the movie we see Dodge (played by Steve Carell) and his wife sitting in the car, listening to the radio announcement that asteroid 'Matilda' cannot be stopped and will hit earth in 3 weeks, ending life as we know it. Dodge's wife looks at him, and then leaves the car, literally running away from him. What a beginning! Dodge eventually meets Penny (played by Kiera Knightley), and regardless of their age difference, they strike a friendship. Dodge and Penny hit the road, among others to look up Dodge's HS sweetheart and to find a plane for penny so she can rejoin her family in England. I don't want to give away much more of the plot, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out, but let's just say things don't pan out exactly as Dodge and Penny thought they would.
This is an outstanding movie from start to finish. In the midst of all the numbing summer blockbusters that Hollywood unleaches upon us, here's actually a movie that actually speaks to me. At times I laughed, at times I teared up, and the movie went by in the blink of an eye. I don't know that Steve Carell has ever been better than here, playing the "Joe Six-Pack" average guy with even more restraint (and that's a compliment). Kudos also to Kiera Kightley. Likewise for the oustanding soundtrack (I may never listen to the Hollies "The Air That I Breathe" in the same way again).... Read more ›
44 of 49 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
The trend for today's movies is to reveal the entire plot from start to finish including all the best lines compressed into a 2 minute 30 second trailer. The trailer for this film is awesome - fast paced, great music track (we're on a road to nowhere), and really funny. Well all of that stuff happens in about the first 20 minutes of the film. Then this focus/Indian paintbrush film settles into an examination of two questions: What if you found out you had 21 days to live? Along with the rest of humankind?
The basic plot of this movie is: man with long history of woman problems gives up on romance after his wife leaves him and he finds out the world is coming to an end, people try unsuccessfully to set him up, he meets a much younger female neighbor who has a sleep disorder and awful judgment in men, they pick up a dog and go on a road trip each on a quest for that one last thing they want to do in this life. And they get to really know each other along the way.
It is at times serious and contemplative and other times shifts to gallows humor. The exterior world which starts out with crowds and rioting fades away as the film progresses to focus solely on one man and one woman. The relationship that builds over the course of the movie between the main characters, Dodge and Penny, along with the dog they pick up along the way dubbed Sorry, is sweet and believable.
If you like Steve Carell's brand of humor or films that cut past the BS and examine the stuff that matters, give this one a try.
The basic plot of this movie is: man with long history of woman problems gives up on romance after his wife leaves him and he finds out the world is coming to an end, people try unsuccessfully to set him up, he meets a much younger female neighbor who has a sleep disorder and awful judgment in men, they pick up a dog and go on a road trip each on a quest for that one last thing they want to do in this life. And they get to really know each other along the way.
It is at times serious and contemplative and other times shifts to gallows humor. The exterior world which starts out with crowds and rioting fades away as the film progresses to focus solely on one man and one woman. The relationship that builds over the course of the movie between the main characters, Dodge and Penny, along with the dog they pick up along the way dubbed Sorry, is sweet and believable.
If you like Steve Carell's brand of humor or films that cut past the BS and examine the stuff that matters, give this one a try.
27 of 32 people found the following review helpful
By Wolf
Format:DVD
As soon as I saw the title for this movie, I knew it was going to be a great film. It's really an exploration of Existentialism. Whether we die from a meteor crashing into the Earth or we live out our lives in peace and good health - we all must eventually die. So this film is really the sped-up version of the important responsible decisions and acts of genuine authenticity that we have to face in our lives.
There's two things you'll find interesting in this film. One is how others around the central characters deal with their imminent demise. There's nihilistic hedonism. There's people who simply cannot process what's happening and just carry on with their now meaningless lives (that is, acting in "bad faith"). There's the anti-humanist, devout believer who's content in their prison cell - satisfied that the world is finally coming to an end. There's people who commit shocking suicides, and those that hire someone else to put them out of their misery. It's not exactly a comedy. Like Dodge's friend's wife tells him, "You're not getting out of this one."
The second thing that you'll find interesting is how Dodge finds a type of "salvation" inside all this doom. And I won't spoil that for you, but I'll just say that it's going to require an active, authentic decision on his part about how he wants to spend his last moments.
Also, thank-you so much to the film's writer(s) for not chickening out and giving this movie a fake, "Hollywood", happy ending. I highly recommend this movie. It will wake you up to life and its amazing possibilities.
P.S. ultimately, Existentialism is a failed philosophy, but that doesn't make it a bad one.... Read more ›
There's two things you'll find interesting in this film. One is how others around the central characters deal with their imminent demise. There's nihilistic hedonism. There's people who simply cannot process what's happening and just carry on with their now meaningless lives (that is, acting in "bad faith"). There's the anti-humanist, devout believer who's content in their prison cell - satisfied that the world is finally coming to an end. There's people who commit shocking suicides, and those that hire someone else to put them out of their misery. It's not exactly a comedy. Like Dodge's friend's wife tells him, "You're not getting out of this one."
The second thing that you'll find interesting is how Dodge finds a type of "salvation" inside all this doom. And I won't spoil that for you, but I'll just say that it's going to require an active, authentic decision on his part about how he wants to spend his last moments.
Also, thank-you so much to the film's writer(s) for not chickening out and giving this movie a fake, "Hollywood", happy ending. I highly recommend this movie. It will wake you up to life and its amazing possibilities.
P.S. ultimately, Existentialism is a failed philosophy, but that doesn't make it a bad one.... Read more ›
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
What would you do?
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World by Lorene Scafaria has become one of my favorite movies. This jewel of creative thought was shamelessly pulled from the theaters before... Read more
Published 1 day ago by S. Flint
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not A Desert Island DVD...But
This film suffers from an unevenness in tone. For half the film it's a dark comedy and the second half is serious drama. Read more
Published 2 days ago by David Baldwin
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great Start - But...
I like Steve Carell. He seems like he takes acting kind of serious, but he seems to gravitate towards awkward humor. I'm all for it and when it works it blows you away. Read more
Published 2 days ago by Justin Wilson
5.0 out of 5 stars
funny and eye opening
Funny with a pinch of sadness and a moment of revelation that is eye opening at the climax of the film.
Published 5 days ago by Angel Faith
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely beautiful, moving film.
(Please note this review does contain spoilers, but they are vague. You won't know exactly what happens, but you'll grasp the premise including the final scene, so please take... Read more
Published 6 days ago by SaosinEngaged
4.0 out of 5 stars
When the world ends, give me cough syrup and a seat at Friendsy's
"If you're just tuning in... the final mission to save mankind has failed." Oh, crap. That's something you don't want to hear from your television news anchorman. Read more
Published 6 days ago by H. Bala
2.0 out of 5 stars
typical Hollywood disappointment
Steve needs to stop trying to establish himself as a 'serious actor' and stick to what works.....comedy. Read more
Published 10 days ago by James A. Bergdoll
1.0 out of 5 stars
Going to have a root canal has a more interesting plot
If people were truly to have such lame lives as they do in this movie, they'd all commit suicide long before any apocalyptic end of the world scenario! Read more
Published 11 days ago by E. A. Gscheidle
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Sentimental Look at the Apocolypse
Steve Carell plays Dodge. It's a character he has played many times before: the nice guy who's been passed over. Read more
Published 15 days ago by J. Silberman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Charming and cute
I disagree with the comparisons to Melancholia - that's a very superficial analysis. These both deal w end of the world scenarios but that's where the similarities stop. Read more
Published 17 days ago by SpiffyAye?
