a review of 通宵
Writer and director Patrick Brice proves once again that he can create original and excellent movies in a time where Hollywood seems out of ideas. After blowing my mind with the horror-comedy CreepI was curious to see what Brice could do with just focusing on one genre with The Overnight. The results are astounding. It's become a trend in modern, big-budget comedies to take a normal premise and attempt to make it hilarious by having the characters get involved in increasingly insane situations, ever since The Hangover back in 2009. As more and more comedies attempt to do this the results seem to grow more and more disappointing outside of the rare exception. Brice kind of does the same thing here. However, the reason it succeeds is that no matter how crazy things get onscreen it all feels grounded in reality. This is stuff you could see happening in real life if the right people got together. Heck, this stuff most likely happens more often in real life than many of us know. That's what makes this twisted adult play date all the more compelling and hilarious. Recycled jokes are aplenty in comedies nowadays. So it's refreshing to see a movie do things you just don't expect to see. Of course none of those new ideas would matter if they weren't funny. Luckily for us Patrick Brice is kind of a genius with comedy here and has an incredibly talented cast to back him up. Not only is this movie funny, but it's real and has a lot of heart to go along with it's shocking gags. Commitment, love, lust, body issues, and that thought in the back of every married couples mind that says "I'm not totally happy with my marriage" are all on display. It's a story about staying true to your partner and working past your issues, as well as a tale about having a little fun. Yet, it's also so much more. It's a movie that gets you thinking as much as it gets you laughing, and it will get you laughing a lot. It's sick, sweet, and maybe even a little deranged. It's a lot of hilarious, sexy fun and one of the best comedies I've ever seen. Patrick Brice proves once again that he is immensely talented by delivering, not one, but two incredible movies in the same year. Creep was darn near close to a masterpiece, and The Overnight blows it out of the water. I can't recommend it enough.