Two years after a rough breakup, Tommy (Johnson) is still wallowing, stuck in a rut and living with his mother. So when Andy Samberg (Andy Samberg) welcomes him into a limo and invites him to participate in a dark-web reality show, Tommy is in\u2013 even if it means he has to survive people trying to kill him for 30 days to win a million dollars. The twist in the game is that the often-alone Tommy is safe whenever he\u2019s within arm\u2019s length of another person, so he just has to find someone to survive with, 24 hours a day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What might be even tougher for Tommy is finding someone he can be authentic with. Self Reliance<\/em> opens with a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote: \u201cTo be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.\u201d Tommy is a single, oddball loner in a world designed for couples, and he struggles to find connection, even with his family who don\u2019t believe his wild story about jumping into Andy Samberg\u2019s limo, much less having to avoid being alone to win a million dollars and not die. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to Samberg\u2019s appearance, his Lonely Island produced the film, and Self Reliance<\/em> has a similar, if less inventive, feel to Palm Springs<\/em><\/a>. Both are quirky dark comedies that force their in-a-rut hero to spend a lot of time with a cute girl, who they inevitably fall for. In Self Reliance<\/em>, that partner is played by Anna Kendrick, Johnson\u2019s co-star in Drinking Buddies<\/em><\/a>. The actors have a warm, easy chemistry that makes you believe they could spend endless hours together trying to stay alive, without getting murder-y themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sadly, Self Reliance <\/em>squanders the potential of its cool concept. It doesn\u2019t fully lean into the satirical elements of people getting entertainment from watching a person risk their life for money. The romance between Johnson and Kendrick\u2019s characters also feels underdeveloped outside of their strong chemistry. We just see them being cute in montages, rather than witnessing evidence of their connection beyond the volume of time they spend together. Multiple elements feel half-baked; Self Reliance<\/em> is trying to do a lot, but it doesn\u2019t do any of it especially well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n All that said, if you\u2019re a fan of Johnson (and if you\u2019re not, why are you here?), Self Reliance <\/em>has its charms, particularly those stemming from the actor\u2019s near-perfect comic timing and delivery. It\u2019s goofy and just weird enough to be interesting, though I wish it had been weirder. It gets a decent number of laughs thanks to Johnson and solid supporting work from Christopher Lloyd, Daryl J. Johnson, Emily Hampshire, and Mary Holland. In his first feature effort, Johnson is a capable director, especially when it comes to getting great performances from his fellow actors. However, he does display a distracting penchant for lens flares, and there\u2019s an undercooked theme in both the visuals and plot that hints that this game may go back to at least medieval times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With Johnson\u2019s fingerprints all over it, Self Reliance<\/em> is a flawed but moderately enjoyable little movie. It\u2019s okay enough to temporarily distract you from the isolation of the modern world, but it doesn\u2019t offer anything more fully formed or substantial despite its high-concept premise and commentary on loneliness. No one will blame you if you just watch New Girl<\/em> for the fourth time instead, which is itself a pretty good substitute for human companionship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Self Reliance” is on Hulu Friday<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/self-reliance2-1024x576.jpg\")
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