Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Product Description Steve Carell and Keira Knightley lead an all-star cast in this clever and heartwarming comedy that explores the crazy things people do when humanity's last days are at hand. Set in a too-near future, two neighbors, Dodge (Carell) and Penny (Knightley), react in their own unique ways to the announcement that a 70-mile-wide asteroid is en route to the Earth. He wants to return to his first love. She just wants to get back to her family. As the unlikely companions' respective journeys converge, their outlooks if not the world's brighten in surprising and hilarious ways. The feature directorial debut of screenwriter Lorene Scafaria (Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist), Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is being hailed as "funny and wonderfully poetic! Steve Carell and Keira Knightley are superb." (Claudia Puig, USA Today) Amazon.com A sweet and subtle love story, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World begins when Dodge (Steve Carell) watches his wife run away from him because she's just learned that an asteroid is going to destroy the Earth. Dodge finds himself unmoored in a world that's lost its bearings in a much bigger way; some people surrender to hedonism, some cling to the mundane patterns of their lives, and others just kill themselves. Then Dodge is given one last chance at meaning in his life: a neighbor named Penny (Keira Knightley) reveals that she's failed to give him some of his misdirected mail including a letter from his cherished high school sweetheart, who reveals he was the love of her life. As civilization falls apart around them, Dodge and Penny set off on a road trip to reunite Penny with her family and Dodge with his lost love. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World could have been broad and goofy, but instead the movie takes the scenario seriously (without, mind you, losing its sense of humor). Dodge and Penny discover that their lives, disconnected from a possible future, aren't what they were, and the result is both comic and surprisingly heartfelt. An impressive supporting cast--including Patton Oswalt, Connie Britton, Derek Luke, William Petersen, Rob Corddry, Gillian Jacobs, T.J. Miller, Adam Brody, Melanie Lynskey, and more--fleshes out this world of lost souls. --Bret Fetzer