Worth: $16.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Kerith Atkinson, Tony Brockman, Jacki Mison
Intro:
…enjoyably frothy…
“I wouldn’t go out with if you were the last guy on earth!” It’s a line oft said in end-of-the-line desperation – both in life and on screen – and debut Aussie writer/director Samuel Gay wittily makes it the crux of an entire feature film with the enjoyably frothy A Guide To Dating At The End Of The World. Though the concept at times gets a little stretched, this low budget charmer proves that a simple premise can be effectively mined and manipulated into something consistently entertaining.
Not so endearingly described even by her friends as a “prickly pear”, Alex (the very engaging Kerith Atkinson, who gets a great showcase here) is decidedly single, and when her pals try and set her up with John (the sweetly charming Tony Brockman), things quickly go, well, pear shaped. Alex isn’t interested in her friends’ cupid act, and the nervous John is trying way too hard, which leads Alex to loudly announce, yep, you know the line. The next morning, Alex awakes to find that everyone has vanished from her hometown of Brisbane…except, of course, for John. In the ultimate meet-cute, the totally isolated Alex then realises that she and John might have more in common than she initially thought.
With its ingenious scenes of a deserted, people-free Brisbane, A Guide To Dating At The End Of The World makes good use of its potential-filled premise. The film warms up even more as the on-screen chemistry of leads Kerith Atkinson and John Brockman becomes increasingly and enjoyably apparent. With great comic timing and energy, the two actors are terrific together as they get to know one another and feel out a world with nobody else in it. This cute dynamic shifts considerably with the introduction of the confident Wendy (the very funny Jacki Mison) and a series of wacky theories and explanations about what has happened to the world.
The science fiction elements of the film are not its true strengths (though they are certainly well realised with some impressive low budget VFX), but they’re effective enough as a mere set-up for what really makes A Guide To Dating At The End Of The World work, which is the interplay and dialogue that snaps and pops between the two delightful leads. These are two people you wouldn’t mind spending time with in the apocalypse, and they certainly make A Guide To Dating At The End Of The World an endearing, low-key joy.
