One Last Night is a 2019 romantic comedy about a couple on their first date who end up stuck in a movie theater after it closes.
The Intern with Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway is a breezy light comedy that maybe isn’t really the best first date movie. That’s what Alex (Luke Brandon Field), a twenty-nine-year old European living in the states learns when he takes Zoe (Rachele Schank) to a local theater after meeting on a dating app. She quickly falls asleep, which is bad enough, but the real problem begins when they exit and find that the place is closed and they are locked in. With no cell service and no way to get out, they spend the night together exploring the place and if maybe a second date (or going through with the first) is worth a shot. But is it all as it seems?
Existing on a higher plane of reality, One Last Night is a deceptively light and breezy 77 minutes while flirting with all kinds of sparky bits of smarts. Set mostly within the theater, the pair talk and talk to each as they travel through a series of genre tropes in high quality fashion. It’s not much of a challenge but it’s not really meant to be, this more a boy meets girl thing where neither have much in common at first but learn that there’s more to finding romance than connecting familiar dots. Even with a little deception on both sides.
It’s held together by two spirited performances, some genuine chemistry whirling about Field and Schank, who are effortlessly charming as they ring all the bells we’ve come to expect, giving it a fresh tune. Directed by Anthony Sabet, who is credited as co-writer, the script is not entirely surprising, especially when a mid-movie twist reveals a bend in the road that most will see coming, even as it does exactly what it intends with plenty of satisfaction. Riding on rails can be a sure thing if done right, and One Last Night does it just right enough.
Mixed into all this is Brian Baumgartner as the bumbling security guard who earns a few light laughs though this is all Field and Schank, the pair great together, making it all work, even in the last half when it all sort of comes together in a square peg fits in a well, square peg kind of way. On top of it are little white scribbles of animation sprinkled on the screen adding the appropriate flair of quirky Indie glitz that of course are cheery and fun, keeping this a safe and flighty film that is admittedly more fun than it ought to be. Recommended.