A young couple decides to take a week-long holiday from the internet, and the two are left blissfully unaware of the ensuing invasion of earth by furry aliens. Save Yourselves! is one of those rare comedies that entertains with good-natured observational humor as well as shock value, and strikes an impressive balance between the two. This quirky comedy by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson is lighthearted, funny, and grounded with truly relatable characters.
Jack and Su are a sweet, young couple living in Brooklyn, who I have definitely met in several forms, many times before. The two are instantly familiar = self-effacing hipsters who like esoteric things – and that clear association is certainly proof of good writing. One night at a party, the two run into an old friend, Raph, who inspires them to embark on a journey of self-improvement.
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Raph is one of those guys you meet at a party who instantly makes you hate yourself. He quit his job as an investment banker to 3D print surfboards out of algae – need I say more? To Jack and SU, Raph appears braver, more ‘cool’, and happier for it.
So based on this 10-minute interaction with an upper-echelon hipster, Jack and Su decide they must go up to Raph’s cabin, abandon their devices and become “a better ‘we’”. They want to do something meaningful like “start a community garden” and “be vegetarian again.” Listening to these two drunkenly go off about their lofty ideals is (I hate to admit) incredibly familiar, and also deeply funny.
Save Yourselves! doesn’t begrudge Jack and Su their eat-pray-love moment. But it isn’t afraid to laugh at it, either, and this is what makes it so effective. It doesn’t take anything, including itself, too seriously. Perhaps that’s why the aliens in this movie look like something out of Monsters Inc. Su, hilariously, mistakes them for fuzzy footstools. I won’t even go into how these creatures behave – it’s so ridiculous that you should really find out for yourself. Most of the second half of the film is entirely unexpected and, well, weird, that you can’t help but laugh.
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That said, the film is grounded by truly convincing performances. John Reyolds and Sunita Mani play Jack and Su so well, in fact, that part of me wishes this movie were about their relationship. Reynolds gives a touching speech about his masculinity and identity which will undoubtedly strike a chord with audiences and has wonderful on-screen chemistry with Mani. Save Yourselves! is a stand-out in its genre.
Save Yourselves! Trailer
Save Yourselves Links – IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes
