Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

There are two big problems with Safety Not Guaranteed:

1. Aubrey Plaza.  I think her schtick would probably come off alright if I didn't know it was her all-the-time schtick.  She's basically doing April from Parks & Rec and I found it incredibly distracting and almost lazy.
2. The very last image.  The final scene was beautiful -- the whole "she's taking a leap to show him she believes in him!" and the "won't it be cool if it works?" wonderment of the moment were great.  But moving from hope to a black & white answer hurt the story.  Or at least the answer they went with hurt the story.  I take it back...I think that regardless of which answer they chose, telling us for certain doesn't work.  Better to leave the resolution to our imaginations and hopes than to give an absolute that could never have a prayer of being satisfying.

I know it sounds like, at most, I'd give the movie a big ol' "meh," but that's not the case.  I fell under its spell.  I even liked the secondary story line of the journalist reconnecting with an old girlfriend.  There was something special here, which is probably why I'm so annoyed at the bits that worked against the magic.

A-