Film Forum

 

‘Self Reliance’ 

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The R rating awarded to “Self Reliance” for its language only proves the heavy-handedness of our rating system, as you’ll strain to hear anything in this genially bonkers comedy that couldn’t have been written by an 11-year-old. Which is exactly the age group most likely to enjoy it.

Playing Tommy, an overfamiliar movie sad sack, the likable Jake Johnson (directing his first feature) radiates a shaggy warmth and appealing haplessness. Lost in middle age, Tommy lives with his mother, endures a tedious desk job and wonders why his longtime girlfriend has kicked him out. So when Andy Samberg (playing himself) sidles up in a limo and announces, “Congrats! You’ve been selected,” Tommy almost doesn’t care what for: Anything would be better than his humdrum existence.

Tommy’s selection, it turns out, is as a contestant in a dark-web reality show. To win a million dollars, he has to survive for 30 days while an international pack of ninja-like assassins tries to kill him. A loophole forbids his murder unless he’s alone, so Tommy must persuade someone to shadow him 24/7 — bedroom and bathroom included. His family believes him to be delusional, hinting obliquely at earlier suspected breaks with reality; but Johnson’s screenplay would rather add another chase scene than address the more compelling issue of Tommy’s mental health.

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Tonally wobbly and sappily simplistic — without companionship, living is impossible — “Self Reliance” sends Tommy on a flailing quest for human connection. Both Anna Kendrick and the charmingly named Biff Wiff are diverting as temporary cronies, but the movie is too juvenile and too timid to acknowledge the real-world chill of its online cabal of murderous social misfits. The issue is not whether Tommy will survive, but why we should hang around to find out.

Self Reliance

Rated R for unacceptable language (I guess) and unchecked silliness (I’m certain). Running time: 1 hour 25 minutes. Watch on Hulu.

Self Reliance

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DirectorJake Johnson

WriterJake Johnson

StarsJake Johnson, Anna Kendrick, Andy Samberg, Christopher Lloyd, Daryl J. Johnson

RatingR

Running Time1h 25m

GenresComedy, Thriller

Movie data powered by IMDb.com

A version of this article appears in print on Jan. 12, 2024, Section C, Page 12 of the New York edition with the headline: Self Reliance. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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