Self Reliance (2023) Review!!

Synopsis – Given the opportunity to participate in a life or death reality game show, one man discovers there’s a lot to live for.

My Take – Though Jake Johnson is known for this scene stealing roles in features like Let’s Be Cops (2014), Jurassic World (2015), The Mummy (2017), along with being the voice of an older Spider-Man from Earth-616B in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and its excellent 2023 sequel. For most he will always be the face of Nick Miller from the Fox sitcom New Girl (2011–2018).

Hence, seeing his comedic deliverance, certain expectations were always quite set for his directorial debut, following his writing gigs in Digging for Fire (2015), Win It All (2017) and Ride the Eagle (2021).

Acting as comedic riff on The Most Dangerous Game (1932) and The Game (1997), the film works as a light, quirky but deep offering that is as likable as its lead, writer, producer and director Jake Johnson himself.

That being said, while the scenario where his character is safe from being killed as long as there’s someone else nearby creates a lot of awkward opportunities for Johnson to capitalize on with his signature, deeply committed delivery, his script doesn’t quite sticking the landing as it is too eager to underline its themes of community and connection.

Yes, it could have gone in a more intriguing direction by giving it more of a horror vibe when the attacks happen, however, as a director Johnson seems more comfortable overseeing quips and conversation than rollicking suspense.

Sure, the end result is far from great, but it is also far from bad as well. It is a weird one that made me smile and kept me engaged for 87 minutes. Sometimes, that is more than enough to warrant a watch.

The story follows Tommy (Jake Johnson), who following his breakup with his high school sweetheart, Theresa (Natalie Morales), two years ago, has been stuck in a permanent rut of a routine. But this daily monotony changes the moment actor/comedian Andy Sandberg (Andy Sandberg), rolls up in a limo, offering Tommy a deal like no other.

Presented with an opportunity to be on a reality TV show on the dark web, the lonely and bored Tommy readily agrees when he is informed of the game’s one, silly loophole: As long as he’s with another person, his hunters will not touch him. And if he can survive thirty days, he will be rewarded with one million dollars.

Though he immediately informs his family to help him win the game. His sisters Amy (Mary Holland) and Mary (Emily Hampshire), brother-in-law Malcolm (Daryl J. Johnson), and mom Laurie (Nancy Lenehan) refuse help, bringing up past lies and exaggerations he’s told to prove their point. They even go so far as to hold an intervention when Tommy’s adventure becomes too much for them.

It gets so bad that he pays a homeless man, James (Biff Wiff), to shadow him. All this leads up to Tommy finding another contestant playing the game, Maddy (Anna Kendrick). Needless to say, Tommy and Maddy experience some crazy twists and turns, including encouragement to confront Theresa about her decision to leave him. All this while avoiding assassins and dealing with family.

The setup is pretty simple. It’s a high-concept thriller-comedy, and most of its character interactions are this aforementioned scourge to modern comedies. It isn’t as laugh out loud funny as I was initially hoping, and it doesn’t evolve much beyond its initial premise.

But the film does allow you to maneuver around inside of it, placing yourself in the protagonist’s shoes and playing along to imagine what you’d do in a scenario like this, but the actual events of the film are less exhilarating than I was hoping for.

There is a concrete story here, but it is surrounded by elements from directions the film ultimately does not explore. This sometimes makes the film feel like a collection of good ideas propping up a core tale that is not strong enough on its own. The most obvious ones are loneliness and isolation.

Despite being a likable guy, Tommy is apparently very antisocial, and hence, he doesn’t have anyone to rely on other than his family members. The dynamic between Tommy and his family shows that it’s stupid to expect unconditional love from a bunch of people just because they belong to the same family tree. In addition to all that, the fact that Tommy lives with his mother highlights how financial constraints in the 21st century are disallowing generations of people to live on their own and how that can be a pleasant or unpleasant experience, depending on one’s relationship with their family.

Many characters and threads introduced in the first hour, including cameos from Christopher Lloyd, GaTa and Wayne Brady, are too quickly wrapped up in the final thirty minutes. He even dangles that rom-com carrot without actually dropping it, which is strangely refreshing. Tommy and Maddy establish a kind of solace in one another, and the film ultimately shifts to focusing on their ability to connect and better those around them – as well as moving on from trauma and heartbreak.

I wish the film showed more of is Tommy’s attempts to outrun danger. I wanted more encounters with these supposed global assassins and more murder attempts. While the high-octane nature of the plot is palpable during those moments of danger, any time we see Tommy employ the loophole, those stakes dissipate.

Performance wise, Jake Johnson brings his familiar every man quality to the role and never wavers outside of his own headspace. Anna Kendrick, unsurprisingly, is the always likable dream girl, but sadly never gets to quite reach her full potential in the narrative. Andy Samberg is his usual hilarious.

Biff Wiff brings an effortless comedic presence. In smaller roles, Natalie Morales, Mary Holland, Emily Hampshire, Daryl J. Johnson, Nancy Lenehan, Miriam Flynn and Eduardo Franco are pretty good. On the whole, ‘Self Reliance’ is a wacky and slightly surreal bend that is both amusing and whimsical.