Film

Safety Not Guaranteed

Name: Safety Not Guaranteed
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Science Fiction
Released: 2012
Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni, Jenica Bergere

Absurdist comedy

A magazine intern and her cynical colleagues drive out to meet a man advertising for a time-travel companion. This is a small, warm sci-fi romance that treats its premise seriously while never losing its dry humor. It's for people who like their speculative fiction grounded in real feeling—where the mystery matters less than what it reveals about the characters wanting to escape their lives.

TMDb rating

3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like low-key comedies where the jokes come from people who take a ridiculous premise completely seriously, with a tender, slightly melancholy heart under the deadpan.

Skip it if you need brisk plotting and a steady run of gags, since this drifts at its own unhurried pace and its funniest moments are small, awkward silences.

What it asks of you: It asks for patience with long quiet stretches and characters who keep their feelings half-hidden, so you'll need to lean in rather than wait for the punchline.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Her2013

A beautifully tender story about connection and loneliness wrapped in speculative fiction. Like Safety Not Guaranteed, it asks what we're really seeking when we reach for the impossible—and finds surprising humanity there.

But Some find the premise—falling in love with an AI—too conceptual or precious. The pacing is deliberate, and it's more melancholy than funny.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind2004

A couple erases each other from their memories, but the film is really about why we cling to painful relationships. Like Safety Not Guaranteed, it's sci-fi in service of something deeply emotional and lived-in.

But It's willfully strange and fractured in its storytelling. Some viewers find it deliberately difficult rather than rewarding.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind poster

Ruby Sparks2012

A writer literally writes his dream woman into existence. It's got the same deadpan tone and indie sensibility as Safety Not Guaranteed, asking what we want versus what we actually need.

But The premise sits uncomfortably—some see it as romanticizing control even as the film questions it. If that squirms you, it won't let go.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Safety Not Guaranteed

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Donnie Darko2001

Both use time-travel possibility as a window into a character's desire to undo or rewrite their life, and both refuse to make that desire simple or judgmental.

A troubled teenager experiences strange temporal phenomena. It's science fiction and mystery, but it's really about depression, family fracture, and the pull between escape and staying present—the exact emotional core of Safety Not Guaranteed.

But It's densely weird and openly ambiguous. The cult following can oversell it; some find it pretentious or needlessly obscure on first watch.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World2012

Steve Carell and Keira Knightley roadtrip toward an asteroid. It's wistful, funny, and genuinely strange—asking what matters when nothing does. Same small-scale warmth as Safety Not Guaranteed.

But Tonal shifts between comedy and existential dread can feel jarring. Some find it too melancholy to land as rom-com, too silly to land as drama.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World poster

The One I Love2014

A couple's therapy retreat becomes uncannily strange. It's a small, creepy-funny film that trusts its premise while staying focused on the relationship at its core—very much Safety Not Guaranteed's DNA.

But The mystery isn't fully explained. If you need a neat resolution, you'll leave frustrated and unsatisfied.

About Time2013

A man discovers he can time travel, but the film is really about fathers and sons. Achingly sincere and funny by turns, it uses sci-fi premise to explore ordinary, profound love.

But It swings hard toward sentimentality in the final act. Some find the earnestness unearned; others find it manipulative.

Adventureland2009

A college kid's summer at an amusement park becomes unexpectedly moving. Same indie sensibility and tone—awkward, tender, genuinely funny. Nails that specific mixture of melancholy and hope.

But It's slow and comes across as aimless to some. If you want plot momentum, you'll find it frustratingly slack.

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping2016

A mockumentary about a ridiculous pop star that's more thoughtful about friendship and ego than it has any right to be. Same dry, affectionate comedy sensibility underneath.

But The humor is very specific and hits-based. If the comedic register doesn't click immediately, it can feel like watching someone else's in-jokes.

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping poster

Ghostland2018

Both are portraits of people trying to hold onto something impossible or disappearing, and both find something beautiful and true in that impulse rather than mocking it.

A documentary about a ghost town and the people who choose to stay in it. Like Safety Not Guaranteed, it's fascinated by why people cling to places and ideas nobody else understands—and it treats their reasons with real respect.

But It's a documentary, not narrative. Slow-paced and meditative, with no plot arc or dramatic payoff—just observation and atmosphere.

Fixed: The Science/Fiction of Human Enhancement2013

Both are interested in what our sci-fi fantasies reveal about what we actually want and what we're actually running from.

A limited series of short films and essays exploring how actual science shapes sci-fi dreams. It luxuriates in the gap between what we hope technology can do and what it actually does—the exact space where Safety Not Guaranteed lives.

But It's essayistic and concept-driven. If you want narrative and character, you'll find it frustratingly abstract and cool rather than warm.