Arts & Entertainment

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World


This apocalyptic comedy follows two neighbors who set out for one last road trip after learning that a massive asteroid will wipe out all life on Earth in just three weeks. Dodge and Penny are both having a very bad day. Shell-shocked after hearing that the last hope of destroying the massive asteroid on a collision course with Earth has failed, Dodge watches helplessly as his wife bounds out of their car and vanishes into the night. Later, as the now-reluctant loner ponders what to do with his remaining time on the doomed planet, sobbing waif Penny appears at his window lamenting her breakup with self-centered boyfriend Owen. When the sun rises the following morning, the two neighbors who had barely exchanged passing glances in the hallway have forged a tenuous yet very real connection. Tensions rise, however, when Dodge learns that Penny inadvertently received an inviting love letter from the ex he’s always loved, and that she failed to give it to him before all of mankind was doomed to a catastrophic fate. When Dodge announces a plan to reconnect with his ex while he still has the time, guilt-ridden Penny vows to help him accomplish his goal at all costs. But the more time this mismatched pair spend on the road together, the more their journey takes on a new meaning — one that neither could have ever seen coming, but which both sense was the way things were meant to be. Director: Lorene Scafaria. Cast: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Connie Britton, Adam Brody, Rob Corddry. Rated: R. Time: 1:41.