With ‘Self Reliance,’ Jake Johnson Nails His Directorial Debut

We all know and love Jake Johnson from one project or another. Whether it be bringing Nick Miller to life in New Girl or voicing Peter B. Parker in the Spider-Verse movies, you find a place in your heart for Johnson and he won’t leave. Which is a good thing.

Johnson’s directorial debut, Self Reliance (now on Hulu), is all about Tommy (Johnson) agreeing to be on a dark web show where people can hunt him for sport. Who gives him this once in a lifetime opportunity? Andy Samberg. Yes, he’s playing himself. Which is not the weirdest thing to happen to Tommy, nor is Samberg the only person to appear in the film as himself.

Self Reliance hooks us with Johnson’s charm and uses it to carry us through the more outlandish parts of Tommy’s story. This isn’t a simple “character runs from guys with guns trying to kill them” movie. There are many moving parts and rules to this show that Tommy has found himself on, including that no one is allowed to kill Tommy if he is with another person.

Both creepy and hilarious, Self Reliance relies a lot on the performances of those playing Tommy’s family members and people participating in the game. Tommy’s dynamic with fellow contestant Maddy (Anna Kendrick is the most charming of all. Maddy and Tommy join forces to protect one another so that Tommy’s new unhoused friend, James (Biff Wiff), can have a break from trying to keep Tommy alive.

Maybe it is The Most Dangerous Game of it all, but there is just something about Self Reliance that really works.

Hilarious, poignant, and perfectly balanced between comedy and terror

For as funny as Self Reliance is, you also have moments where you’re reminded that Tommy is being hunted. There are hilarious moments between a PA (Eduardo Franco) and the “ninjas” who keep putting cameras up to follow Tommy around that balance creepiness and hilarity. Combined with Tommy’s family just straight-up not believing him when he explains what is happening, Self Reliance will keep you on the edge of your seat for the full 90-minute runtime.

Johnson manages to bring Tommy to life in a way that doesn’t make him insufferable given the circumstance he’s found himself in. He also shows his strength as a writer and director in the nuances he surfaces in telling Tommy’s story.

It’s easy to look at this movie on paper and think it is absurd, but Self Reliance really highlights the loneliness that one can feel and the desperate lengths that people will go to in order to free ourselves from it. Which, in this case, includes trying to survive a month in a dark web game while being actively hunted.

A quick and easy watch, Self Reliance is a must-see and hopefully one of the first films in Johnson’s directorial career.

(featured image: Hulu)