DIRECTOR Colin Trevarrow and writer Derek Connolly have confected a small but well-formed comedy with edge and bite.

On a small-town weekly, reporter Jeff (Jake Johnson) gets sent to research the story behind an ad seeking a companion to accompany the advertiser on a time journey.

It could be dangerous, but he’s done it and survived. The editor assigns interns Darius (Aubrey Plaza) and Arnau (Karan Soni) as Jeff’s dogsbodies. Jeff despises both for their lack of experience.

Darius does most of the leg-work and discovers that Kenneth (Mark Duplass) placed the advertisement.

While the film’s dramatic level wavers only lightly from a flat line, the screenplay drives it along with self-mocking energy and nicely gauged wit. Aubrey Plaza is a wonderfully deadpan comedienne with attitude, a tiny powerhouse physically resembling Ellen Page. Darius and Kenneth carry most of the film. Jeff’s objective is less to get the story than to track down Belinda (Kristen Bell), the spectacular redhead who gave him his first blow-job at 15.

Agreeably short (86 minutes), “Safety Not Guaranteed” avoids the fantasy so often used to portray time travel. A home-made machine such as Heath Robinson might have enjoyed delivers a spectacular display of tongue-in-cheek pseudo-science to wind up a quite agreeable small, unpretentious, film.

Greater Union