
BY CHRISTOPHER STAMM
GUEST REVIEW
Looking for a friend for the end of the world (Available on most streaming apps)
Rated R – for language and adult themes
Hi all! Well again this little thing called coming of age has kept me from seeing a new release for you good folks so we’ll dive back into the vault back for the one you might have missed .
Looking for a friend for the end of the world came out in 2012, but it never really got the recognition it deserves, as it’s a romantic comedy-drama revolving around the end of the world.
You see, the premise is that there is a meteor on its way to earth, and everyone is going to die when it hits. It stars Steve Carrell as Dodge, a middle-class office drone in a loveless marriage whose wife literally jumps out of their car and flees when the radio announces the last chance to stop the meteor. failed, and Kiera Knightly as Penny, her flaky neighbor. who missed the last flight to England to see his family.
The unlikely duo team up to go find Dodge’s first and true love and find Penny a way back to England.
Along the way, they end up with a dog named Sorry, meet a man who hired an assassin to kill him, some survivalists and, in a fun sequence, come across a chain of restaurants in the middle of nowhere whose staff have decided to kiss the end and party until the meteor hits, as well as a mass wedding on the beach. And along the way, they also come to understand that love can be found anywhere, anytime, with anyone; you just need to be open to it and embrace it when it comes; and the realization that sometimes the timing just isn’t the best.
You’d think this one would be played straight to theater fans or straight to comedy, but it’s more of a study in how people would come to terms with a planned end of life. And honestly, in this movie, most people are pretty okay with that.
Funny, sad and possessing great insight into the human condition, Looking for a friend for the end of the world balances multiple themes and does it with style.
Available on most streaming apps, and popping up on paid channels every now and then, this one gets four out of five stars from me (it’s actually in my Blu-Ray collection) and is worth a watch.