When does the boss realize just how valuable you are? When he doesn’t have someone who’s there to distract him with the Fine Art of Sucking Up?
That’s the case in “Send Help,” a fun survival film that shows the boss (Dylan O’Brien) just how worthwhile an underling is. Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) is the one who stays late, gets the reports done and isn’t afraid to take on extra responsibility.
Unfortunately, she’s not a player in the sense that her frat-bro boss intends. He promotes one of his sexist bootlickers to the job Linda was promised and expects her to bail them out when trouble arises.
Rachal McAdams stars in "Send Help."
She’s brought along on a company trip, but only for the expertise she can provide. When the plane crashes on a tropical island and the ranks are down to two, Linda has her “I’m the captain now” moment and deals with all those things she studied while a fan of TV’s “Survivor.” Life on an island isn’t that bad, if you know how to find food, build shelter and withstand weather.
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She’s a godsend for the smarmy boss, and he doesn’t want to admit it. Gradually, they come to an impasse and could survive on the island. But what about rescue? Are others looking for them or have they given up?
Director Sam Raimi fiddles with time (how long are they there?), even though the boss wears an expensive watch throughout. We’re never quite sure if it’s days, weeks or months that they’re stranded. But we do suspect something is up and, sure enough, there’s more afoot, particularly when Linda gets to call the shots.
McAdams, who has played both innocent and vile characters, borrows a bit of both here and isn’t afraid to use the tools of one to feed the other. She makes one outfit work in many ways and suggests a life on the island wouldn’t be all that bad.
Dylan O'Brien stars in "Send Help."
O’Brien is fun to watch, too, particularly when he leans into his character’s sense of entitlement. The two come to blows eventually (there’s a little “Romancing the Stone” here), but the film never turns into a romance for either. That’s good, particularly since Raimi peppers his revenge dish with some bloody, violent (and surprising) moments.
“Send Help” could get those ‘90s-era bosses to think twice about their companies’ biggest assets, but it doesn’t have the strength to change the culture. Wildly entertaining — particularly for a survival film — it taps into human strengths and suggests we all might become a little more aware of our capabilities and ways to improve them.
It’s not a horror film, but “Send Help” certainly shows how we can deal with the horrors in our own lives.
