Review: Two Night Stand


After a bad break-up, Analeigh Tipton gets drunk one night and decides to go on an online dating website. From there she interacts with Miles Teller, and before long she’s at his apartment and having a care-free one-night stand with him. Unfortunately, what was supposed to be a night of meaningless sex hits a bit of a roadblock, or in this case snowstorm that forces the duo into the title situation. Now they’re forced to talk and get to know one another. It doesn’t look like it’ll go very well, he’s a bit of a douchy stoner and she’s a bit of a snarky jerk. Jessica Szohr plays Tipton’s roommate, trying to get her out of the apartment for the night so that she can have sex with her boyfriend.

 

I don’t know if it’s been done before, but the basic idea of this 2014 romcom and its very title certainly seemed like an irresistible idea. Written by Mark Hammer (whose only other credit so far is an episode of “Skins”) and directed by debutant Max Nichols (son of Mike), it’s the kind of thing that 10-15 years ago probably would’ve starred Josh Hartnett and Shannyn Sossamon and would’ve been a lot worse. I’m not normally a fan of Miles Teller, but I think he and “America’s Next Top Model” cutie Analeigh Tipton will have a longer shelf life than those two flavours of the month. I know this isn’t Shakespeare, but Tipton (who stole all her few scenes in “Warm Bodies”) proves to be a pretty darn good model-turned-actress and has charisma you just can’t teach. She’s the perfect mixture of Meg Ryan, Mila Kunis and…Mmmm yeah. Yes, that’s a thing. Tipton should be arrested, charged, and convicted of the crime of extreme cuteness. Teller, for his part plays a more palatable character than usual. This guy has his flaws, but is basically well-meaning. Also, his alarm is very funny, I have to admit.

 

As for the film itself, it’s no world beater and has a distinct 2002-2005 vibe, but in terms of modern romantic comedies, it’s certainly more interesting and relatable than most. I thought the way the two characters meet was a bit unbelievable, but it’s where they go from there that is the clever part of the film. Here a one-night stand is forced to continue due to poor weather. It’s cute and clever, and the main characters are just right- annoying enough to get on each other’s’ nerves, but likeable enough for the audience to want to see them get together for good in the end. I could’ve done without the bong-smoking, but I’m aware that I am a buzzkill on drugs and alcohol. And parties. And fun.

 

The leads (particularly Tipton) are far more palatable as a romantic screen couple than those in contemporaries such as “No Strings Attached” (Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman) and “Celeste and Jesse Forever” (Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg). This is a small, clichéd film, but for its type it’s very watchable and likeable. Tipton is incandescent, Teller has been a lot worse.

 

Rating: B-

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Hellraiser (2022)

Recovering junkie Odessa A’zion accompanies scuzzy boyfriend Drew Starkey on a break-in where all they find is a weird puzzle box. A’zion later opens the box and after some weird shit happens, A’zion and Starkey figure it might be a good idea to learn more about this messed up trinket. Goran Visnjic plays a millionaire who possessed the box before our protagonist nicked it.   Is there any point in remaking/rebooting “Hellraiser” when the 1987 adaptation of Clive Barker’s original text was written and directed by Barker himself? And is considered a horror classic? On evidence here, absolutely not. Directed by David Bruckner ( “The Signal” ) and scripted by Ben Collins ( “The Night House” ) and Luke Piotrowski (ditto) this is an entirely tedious affair. I took a long time to get on board with the 1987 “Hellraiser” , I have to admit. It was wildly imaginative and original, like a nightmare transplanted on to film. However, the characters were stone cold and left me similarly chil...
Read more

Review: Cinderella (1950)

The story of poor young Cinderella (voiced by Ilene Woods), treated as a servant by her nasty stepmother (voiced by Eleanor Audley), and dismissed by her thoroughly rotten, ugly stepsisters. Her only friends are a group of mice, who are forever being menaced by a cat named Lucifer (or as I call him, Grumpy Cheshire Cat). The King (hoping to find a wife for his charming son) is throwing a ball and every available young woman is invited to attend, and Cinderella is most excited to go. However, her stepmother and stepsisters do all they can to prevent this from happening. But with help from the mice and one fairy godmother (voiced by Verna Felton) later, and Cinderella looks set to attend the ball. You know the rest, folks.   Lovely 1950 Disney animated movie from directors Clyde Geronimi ( “Peter Pan” , “Lady and the Tramp” ), Wilfred Jackson ( “Fantasia” , “Alice in Wonderland” , “Peter Pan” ) & Hamilton Luske ( “Pinocchio” , “Fantasia” , “Peter Pan” ), that is a bit t...
Read more

Review: Jinnah

The story of Mohammed Ali Jinnah (Sir Christopher Lee) the politically moderate founder of Pakistan. A Muslim lawyer, Jinnah fought to form a separate nation from India for the Muslim minority, whilst Mahatma Gandhi (Sam Dastor) wished for India to stay united and proposed Jinnah as the new PM as a compromise. James Fox plays British viceroy Lord Mountbatten, Indira Varma plays Jinnah’s wife, and veteran bit player Vernon Dobtcheff plays a British dignitary.   Although Christopher Lee’s title performance received some critical notice and the actor himself was very proud of the work, this modestly budgeted 1998 biopic from director Jamil Dehlavi ( “Immaculate Conception” with Melissa Leo) and co-writer Farrukh Dhondy ( “Red Mercury” with Stockard Channing and Ron Silver) was largely ignored at the time and still very little-known today. Part of that is probably due to the poor marketing of the film, and difficulty in finding a distributor. It’s hard to get people to talk abo...
Read more