Self Reliance (2023) review

Network manager/statistical analyst Tommy (Johnson), while on a walk one day, has a limousine pull up to him with the actor Andy Samberg (as "himself") inside who offers him a chance to play a "game" on the Dark Web where he will be hunted for thirty days and if he survives he'll be rewarded with a million bucks ... but the catch is that he can only be killed if he's alone, so he hires vagrant James (Biff Wiff) to be his "shadow," and eventually meets up (via Craigslist) with another contestant, Maddy (Anna Kendrick).  Johnson, in his directorial debut, says he was influenced by Japanese game shows (although I can't help but think Squid Game was in the back of his mind) for what's a somewhat cute (if underdeveloped) allegory about going through a mid-life crisis: he has a conversation with his long-time ex-girlfriend Theresa (Natalie Morales) to figure out where their relationship went wrong and later has a chat with his estranged (but sober!) father Dennis (Christopher Lloyd).  It unravels in the last act where it settles on just being "quirky" instead of genuinely life-affirming, but I appreciate the attempt.