The Good Night
by Jake Paltrow
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Danny DeVito, Gwyneth Paltrow, Martin Freeman (II), Pen?lope Cruz, Simon PeggDirector: Jake Paltrow
Brand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Original Language); Italian (Original Language); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 93 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-04-01
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures
Movie Reviews of The Good Night
Movie Review: Surrealist Dramedy Falls Way Short Due to a Muddy Execution
Summary: 2 Stars
It's pretty obvious that first-time director/screenwriter Jake Paltrow was heavily inspired by Michel Gondry's surreal, off-kilter work in The Science of Sleep and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind in making this downbeat 2007 dramedy. Barely in theaters before heading right to DVD, the film works on an intriguing (albeit unoriginal) premise but is then undermined by a muddy execution and unlikable characters despite some nice visuals. The plot concerns put-upon Gary, a TV commercial jingle writer who was once an `80's Britpop star. His professional life has become a drudge as he begrudgingly works with his best pal and former bandmate Paul, who has sold his soul to become a successful advertising executive. Meanwhile, life at home is no picnic since Gary has to suffer from the constant passive-aggressive derision of his frumpy, needling girlfriend Dora.
Into this emotional void, Gary starts to have vivid dreams of a beautiful fantasy woman named Anna, who turns out to have a basis in reality. It's no wonder that Gary seeks the counsel of a "lucid dreaming" expert from New Jersey named Mel who helps him find ways to elongate the dreams for fear of having them evaporate entirely. Once all this is all established, Paltrow lets the film flail around in a series of frustrating scenes that have Gary turning more and more into an emotional zombie. Moreover, the marked contrast between Dora and Anna comes across as overstated with the result being complete indifference toward both women. Paltrow also uses a framing device of documentary-like testimonials from colleagues in Gary's past, a technique that doesn't make sense until the abrupt ending. None of the principal actors are terribly remarkable here except Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) who brings a much-needed energetic brio to the comically unsavory role of Paul. His cutting scenes with Gary are the best the movie offers.
As Gary, Martin Freeman (BBC's The Office, Breaking and Entering) is likeably dweeby at first, though he doesn't make credible his past as a debauched rock star. Danny DeVito merely plays a plot device in his customary matter and not much more as Mel. No matter how gorgeous she is (and she truly is in this film), Pen?lope Cruz is given short shrift by the script, so much so that her character remains incoherent and incomplete. But ironically, a worse fate befalls the filmmaker's famous sister Gwyneth, who has been so deglamorized as Dora as to render her character nearly unsalvageable. Granted there are some funny, off-the-cuff bits like Dora reacting to Gary's maniacal installation of foam over the bedroom windows by asking if it comes in white or Gary inexplicably reading The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Iraq in bed, but there isn't enough such cleverness to sustain the film. At 93 minutes, it actually feels overlong. The 2008 DVD provides a rather inchoate commentary from Jake Paltrow that is not very insightful.
Summary of The Good Night
A somewhat poignant and sexy dramedy about the power of dreams as both an escape and a path to wisdom, The Good Night stars Martin Freeman (The Office) as Gary, a former pop star-turned-underachieving composer. Scoring commercials produced by his one-time bandmate, Paul (Simon Pegg), and stuck in a dead-end relationship with the prickly Dora (Gwyneth Paltrow), Gary escapes into his dreams, where an exotic beauty (Penelope Cruz) awaits him. Seeking advice on how to guide his dream life toward ever-more thrilling and satisfying experiences, Gary meets the eccentric Mel (Danny DeVito), who teaches a class on the subject but leads a marginal existence of his own. Just when things start getting particularly interesting in Gary's subconscious, he discovers his dream girl exists in the real world as a highly-paid model, whom Paul then casts in a commercial so Gary can meet her. Written and directed by Jake Paltrow, The Good Night is a provocative story about where and how people choose to feel most alive: fulfilling their potential in a world of real possibilities, or living for their unrealized fantasies of what could be. A double-twist ending deepens the complexity of the theme in dark and unexpected ways, and ensures that The Good Night is not a movie easily forgotten after a viewing. --Tom KeoghPen lope Cruz Martin Freeman Gwyneth Paltrow and Danny DeVito co-star in this wry look at an obsessed man who will do anything to make his passion-filled dream life a reality. Gary Sheller (Freeman) is caught in a midlife crisis: dead-end job depressing life and a deteriorating relationship with his girlfriend Dora (Paltrow). That is until he meets Anna (Cruz) the girl of his dreams. Able to see her only while asleep Gary seeks out an expert on lucid dreaming techniques (DeVito) who agrees to help Gary carry on the most satisfying relationship of his life. But as Gary continues to shun reality his waking life troubles only worsen in this illuminating dark comedy.System Requirements:Running Time: 93 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/LOVE & ROMANCE Rating: R UPC: 043396227446 Manufacturer No: 22744
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