Talk:Safety Not Guaranteed

Plot Issues
Hi, I disagree with the sentence in the Plot section which states, "Kenneth says his mission is to go back to 2001 and prevent the death of his old girlfriend Belinda, who was killed when someone drove a car into her house." I don't think this is an accurate summary of the events, as in an earlier scene Kenneth makes clear to Darius that he doesn't want to alter events in the past – e.g. saving Belinda – even if it's "for the betterment of future society". Additionally, it's not explicitly said that he wants to "prevent" Belinda's death in this scene either, just that his "reason for going back is a girl". Therefore I believe this summary is jumping to an unfounded conclusion.

Furthermore, I don't think it's ever made clear that Belinda was killed at all. Duplass' performance in this scene suggests Kenneth is deliberately misconstruing the facts, possibly so his reason seems sadder, to match Darius' (and to hide that he's really going back because he still has a crush on Belinda). His performance in the scene near the end when Darius confronts him about the truth about Belinda supports this (his rationalisation that the mission must've been successful seems unconvincing to Darius and the audience). The fan theory that he actually saved Belinda the first time he time traveled can't be proven as we don't know what he did the first time. I believe Belinda's account of the events in the interview was the truth and the only truth: that it was only ever Kenneth that drove the car into her house, not "some jerk in a band", and that she did not ever die. Whether this can be proven or not, I think the ambiguity of this should be communicated more clearly in this synopsis. RhavinBanda (talk) 14:47, 28 June 2015 (UTC)
 * Well in the movie Belinda says "Kenneth ran his car into my boyfriend's house". --Guyver (talk) 12:03, 16 August 2015 (UTC)

Sci-fi?
I don't see a discussion here about categorizing the film as science-fiction as well as comedy, but I believe it should. I mean, doing it spoils the ending, but that's not usually a concern in Wikipedia articles, whereas the ending is unambiguously stating that the time machine was real all along. Kumagoro-42 13:43, 13 August 2015 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kumagoro-42 (talk • contribs)
 * Adding sci-fi as the genre is not accurate, and it is not a spoiler either. That the main character believes he has invented a time machine does not change the genre. Also WP:FILMGENRE urges editors to list the primary genre not all genres that could possibly apply. I would have described the film as an amusing indie drama rather than a comedy, but what matters is what the sources say. Sites such as Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic simply label it as a comedy, and list no other genres. Variety calls it an "oddball comedy". The Hollywood Reporter refers to it as this "multiplex-friendly comedy about time travel". The New York Times: "a Comedy With a Time Machine" SFGate "comedy" The film may contain some elements of other genres but it seems clear that the main genre is comedy.
 * Please do not change or modify the genre without first discussing it, and showing reliable sources to support any potential changes. If someone changes the genre again without consensus please restore it to just comedy. -- 109.79.167.143 (talk) 12:19, 16 January 2023 (UTC)

External links modified (January 2018)
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Reference to the meme?
Why is there no mention of the original advertisement and the internet-meme, that inspired the film? Also, I believe, that the original author of the advertisement is in the film as a cameo; i.e. one of the people, who open their PO-box. If you want some sources, then here are some: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backwoods_Home_Magazine#%22Safety_Not_Guaranteed%22_classified_ad https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4872697/ https://www.backwoodshome.com/the-time-travel-ad/ --Ælfric of Eynsham (talk) 22:25, 15 April 2019 (UTC)
 * Someone removed it because they couldn't find it in an online anthology of selected articles from the original magazine. Why they expected an anthology published years later to include the ads is beyond me. 71.204.162.131 (talk) 20:05, 4 March 2020 (UTC)
 * The magazine reference is in the lead paragraph, but that it was the Internet meme form that primarily inspired the creation of the film has yet to be proven. AngusWOOF  ( bark  •  sniff ) 20:18, 4 March 2020 (UTC)