Happily married couple, Alex (Adam Scott)
and Emily (Taylor Schilling), newcomers to L.A. from Seattle meet Kurt (Jason
Schwartzman) one day at the local park. Kurt invites the couple over
for dinner with him and his wife and the rest is history. The Overnight is
a comedic romp from beginning to end, without a single dull moment. The
humor isn't slapstick at all but clever, risqué and sophisticated -- think Knocked Up meets
Polanski's Carnage. Each player was in top form and the ensemble performance was straight across
the board fantastic. I have to give it up for Patrick
Brice (writer and director) who found the perfect sweet spot of major
awkwardness and laughs, making you crave more uncomfortable moments –
anticipating a great gag will follow. And that was precisely
the case.
I 've been
waiting for Jason Schwartzman to land a role like this -- one with some real
comedic oomph. Not that he could ever top Rushmore, but he
wasn't too far off. Adam Scott was better than outstanding as a
level-headed guy experiencing a new side of himself and Taylor Schilling played
the willingly daring yet conscientious wife beautifully. The
chemistry of all four characters hinged predominantly on the quietly
captivating performance of Judith Godrèche as the ultra-friendly
temptress plotting along with her husband to achieve their agenda, one
which steadily takes shape from one minute to the next and eventually leads us
to a rare Hollywood climax.
The Overnight left me quite nostalgic for those great
couples movies from far too long ago and here's wishing for more in the future. 4.5/5.
Director:
Patrick Brice
No comments:
Post a Comment