An interpretation of a Mayan calendar caused many to believe the world would end on December 21, 2012. As far as I can tell, this didn’t occur.

Nonetheless, the topic received a lot of attention and that included some movies. Though not explicitly related to the Mayan “prediction”, 2012’s Seeking a Friend for the End of the World gives us a quirky take on the apocalypse.

Despite efforts to avert destruction, an asteroid will hit Earth in three weeks and destroy all life on the planet. Faced with this catastrophe, Dodge Petersen (Steve Carell) finds himself abandoned when his wife Linda (Nancy Carell) flees in a panic.

Determined not to spend the apocalypse alone, Dodge decides to find his high school girlfriend Olivia Covello and reunite. He takes a road trip with neighbor Penny Lockhart (Keira Knightley) that winds down some unforeseen paths.

Well, unforeseen if you don’t know how movies work. No spoilers, of course, but c’mon – how matters develop between Dodge and Penny seems obvious.

Less certain: how the story will end. Few movies actually conclude with the apocalypse, so the question becomes whether or not the asteroid will do its job or if calamity will somehow become averted.

Again, I won’t reveal that here. However, the uncertainty related to the finish becomes the only moderately intriguing aspect of Friend.

The rest of the movie comes across as a case of unfulfilled promise. With a decent premise and a strong cast, Friend enjoys plenty of room to succeed.

Unfortunately, the script from director Lorene Scafaria lacks coherence. It treats matters in an episodic manner that means the movie comes across like a series of vaguely related scenes more than a well-developed tale.

Basically we see how Dodge experiences the near-to-the-end times, and this means a seemingly endless roster of guest actors. They pop up, add a little pizzazz and then head on their merry way.

Because we do get some talented folks like Patton Oswalt, Melanie Lynskey, Connie Britton and William Petersen along the way, the performers do add some spark at times. However, they also feel like a distraction because their appearances come across as gimmicky.

These episodic elements create a gimmicky vibe to the movie. Rather than really allow our leads to evolve, we find ourselves stuck with one cameo after another.

When Friend does focus on Dodge and/or Penny, it also fails to prosper. The movie simply fails to dig into either role with enough depth to make them engaging.

Indeed, poor Penny exists as little more than a classic Manic Pixie Dream Girl, the one who drags mild-mannered Dodge out of his shell. Dodge demonstrates a bit more growth but not enough to give him a three-dimensional vibe.

Friend also fluctuates wildly in tone and can’t pull off these shifts. Part wacky comedy, part romance, part dark drama, the film fails to meld these sides well.

In the end, Friend comes with occasional value due to a good cast, but it just can never get a good head of steam. The movie sags too often and needs a stronger structure to pull off its goals.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World appears in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Expect a positive presentation.

Overall sharpness worked well. A few wider elements came with a bit of softness, but these remained in the minority, so the movie generally showed appealing definition.

No signs of jagged edges or moiré effects manifested, and I saw no edge haloes. Print flaws remained absent.

Colors went toward a mild sense of teal and amber, albeit with a few other tones as well. The hues came across as intended.

Blacks felt dark and dense, while low-light shots boasted nice clarity. All in all, the image worked well.

Though not dazzling, the movie’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack seemed more than satisfactory. Given the film’s story, this meant a soundscape that often remained fairly restrained.

That said, some more “action-oriented” scenes gave the soundfield a little pep, and general environmental information felt well-delineated. Throw in good presence for the score and the imaging suited the tale.

Audio quality appeared solid, with speech that came across as natural and concise. Music showed nice range and warmth.

Effects boasted impressive accuracy and heft, with good low-end as appropriate. Again, this didn’t turn into a memorable mix, but it came across as a nice match with the narrative.

When we move to extras, we launch with an audio commentary from writer/director Lorene Scafaria, director's mother Gail Scafaria, producer Joy Gorman and actors Patton Oswalt and Adam Brody. All sit together for this running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, stunts, music, sets and locations, and general production experiences.

Much of the track proceeds on a comedic bent – well, until Oswalt splits midway through the film. He doesn’t take all the laughs with him, but the tone does become a bit more serious.

Still, the commentary works pretty well overall. Its mix of mirth and cinematic notes make it an enjoyable experience.

Two featurettes follow, and A Look Inside spans four minutes, 54 seconds. It involves Lorene Scafaria, Oswalt, and actors Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, and Rob Corddry.

We learn about story/characters, cast and performances, and how they’d react to the end of the world. This becomes superficial promo fodder.

Music for the End of the World runs two minutes, 15 seconds. This one features Carell, Knightley, Oswalt, Corddry, Lorene Scafaria and actors Melanie Lynskey and Connie Britton.

They tell us about their playlists for the apocalypse. Expect more fluff, some of which repeats from “Look Inside” as well.

Finally, we get a collection of Outtakes that fills eight minutes, 36 seconds and mainly shows the usual goofs and giggles. At least some improv moments add a little mirth.

The disc opens with ads for Anna Karenina, Moonrise Kingdom, Bring It On: The Musical, Hit & Run, and For a Good Time, Call. No trailer for Seeking appears here.

Half heartfelt drama and half snarky comedy, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World doesn’t click. While a strong cast keeps us with it, the final product feels like less than the sum of its parts. The Blu-ray brings pretty solid picture and audio along with some appealing bonus materials. I can’t complain about this disc, but the movie itself disappoints.

Note that this 2025 Blu-ray reissues the movie’s prior release in 2012. The 2025 BD simply reproduces the same disc from 13 years earlier.