When the trailer for Self Reliance first dropped, I was immediately intrigued. Here was Jake Johnson’s directorial debut, produced by The Lonely Island, that looked like it was poised to deliver the offbeat humor they were known for, while also being emotionally resonant and hopelessly romantic. I loved 2020’s Palm Springs and was naturally excited to see if this next effort would live up to their brand promise.
Stuck in a fairly mundane existence, and still grieving the loss of his girlfriend, Jake Johnson plays everyman Tommy Walcott who gets propositioned to take part in an abnormal game show on the dark web. All he has to do is survive for 30 days in order to win a grand prize of one million dollars. The catch? He cannot be alone at any point. If he is, “hunters” from all over the world will be lurking around every corner, just waiting to kill him. And so, in order to survive, Tommy must convince everyone around him to stay as close to him as possible. It’s a pretty clever concept and one that keeps you guessing throughout.
There is a lot going for Self Reliance. At least within the first half of the movie. We explore the ridiculousness of this competition, we watch Tommy discover weird and wonderful ways just to stay alive, all while exploring the importance of the human connection. Johnson uses his high concept to tell a story about how important it is to reach out to those around you and not be, for the lack of a better phrase, self reliant.
Throughout the movie, Tommy discovers this truth by way of a variety of connections, be it romantic love, familial bonds, and the comfort of friends and strangers. Being alone is one of the most harmful things we can do to ourselves and Johnson stretches this metaphor as far as possible in order to get that message across. It is, however, a real shame that he barely scratches the surface of this world that he’s created and doesn’t quite do enough to get you completely invested in it.
And then there is the wild game that he’s playing. While undeniably clever, you cannot help but draw comparisons to another film with an equally similar concept, Guns Akimbo. The 2019 film, led by Daniel Radcliffe, had a story that also followed a man being brought into a reality competition, and facing deadly challenges in order to stay alive and win the game. While that’s where the comparisons end, Guns Akimbo focused a lot more on the game at hand, featuring thrilling action and violence that truly brought us into the movie and kept our focus.
Self Reliance, on the other hand, can’t quite make its mind up over what movie it wanted to be. There were so many instances where we were teased with the potential of what the game had to offer, only to be left wanting. It’s what the trailer sold me. And while I got some of that right at the beginning, and again in its fairly rushed third act, overall it felt like Johnson struggled to find that balance between the two aspects of his story.
Despite its pitfalls, there is nevertheless a lot going that will keep you entertained and enticed. All of that boils down to performances. The role isn’t too much of a stretch for Johnson, but it is what he does best. It’s a character that he excels at, a man who is struggling emotionally through life, trying to build that human connection, in order to feel loved and grow his sense of self worth. He’s trying to do his best for the people around him. He uses humour as a coping mechanism. It’s very much what we’ve seen him do as Nick in New Girl or Peter B. Parker in the Spider-Verse franchise.
Johnson brings a charm and likability to Tommy, as you can relate to him on many levels. While there are equally standout performances from the likes of Anna Kendrick, and the legendary Christopher Lloyd, Johnson truly carries the film on his back, encouraging you to keep going, not just through this film, but through your life as well.
There is no denying that Jake Johnson is a great storyteller, with an inclination towards stories about what makes us human. We’ve seen it in his previous efforts like Ride the Eagle and Digging for Fire. But where those movies succeeded, Self Reliance falls short by playing it a little too safe.
This is a strong first attempt, but it feels like Johnson still needs some time and space to build out his ideas and develop them into something a little more challenging.
Self Reliance will make you think and laugh. It may even tug at your heart a little. It’s not perfect, but it does just enough for you to have fun and lose yourself for about 90 minutes. It’s the perfect movie for a cozy night in.
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