The time-travelling genre. Compared to most, there really isn't a mass number of them released every year. Of course the Back to the Future trilogy set the space-time continuum bar incredibly high.

Safety Not Guaranteed comes at the subject matter from a completely different angle; actually its angle is so obtuse, the time-travelling element is virtually non-existent. What's left however, is still an enjoyable ride.

The staff of Seattle magazine are sitting around a table, trying to come up with ideas for the mag. When few ideas are forthcoming, writer Jeff (New Girl's Jake Johnson) chips in about a classified ad in their mag he's seen; it's from a man seeking a companion to go back in time with him, who also states that safety isn't guaranteed. Jeff thinks it might be fun to check out this person's story, and his editor agrees.

Two interns volunteer to join him: Darius (Parks and Recreation's Aubrey Plaza) and Arnau (Karan Soni).

It soon transpires that Jeff as an ulterior motive for visiting the area of Ocean View; an old flame from High School lives there. This means that he designates most of the work regarding the finding of the person who placed the ad to Darius and Arnau.

After hanging out outside the PO box featured in the ad, the pair soon find their man – Kenneth (Mark Duplass). Darius takes on the responsibility of getting close to Kenneth, by posing as an applicant for his time travelling antics.

Initially suspicious, Kenneth slowly allows Darius into his confidence. Although primarily believing him to be a nut job, Darius starts to believe that maybe Kenneth isn't as mad as he looks.

It's so bright over there, if only I had my sunglasses...

As intimated earlier, director Colin Trevorrow's debut feature is less focused on time-travelling and more so on a blossoming romance. It's essentially a film about love lost, love found and love found again.

The major strand sees Darius fall for the gentle and slightly crazy charms of Kenneth, who Duplass plays as almost a younger version of Doc from Back to the Future. Then there's Johnson's Jake, who comes across as the twin brother from his shtick on New Girl; his strand of the film sees him embark on some time-travelling of his own as he looks up an old girlfriend from twenty years ago.

The film was clearly made on a tight budget, and is about as lo-fi as a comedy can get. But as an indie film, it's not without its charms.

Plaza gives a warm and witty performance as Darius; she delivers a nice line in quirk, the like of which would be welcomed amongst the cast of HBO's Girls comedy.

There's also a lot of deadpan wit to enjoy; the interaction between all the main characters sets off a slow-burning effect that begins with a group that aren't that likeable who eventually win you over.

The weakest chain in the link is Duplass; although he was brilliant in the recent Your Sister's Sister he just doesn't come across as a believable leading man for Plaza; maybe it's just down to the obvious difference in age between them, or something more, but it's just one of those odd pairings that's just too odd to get.

Still, Trevorrow's film does more than enough right elsewhere and proves that as a director, he may have a future worth keeping an eye on.