PopSyndicate.com

A look into one man’s midlife crisis, The Good Night is the first film from writer/director Jake Paltrow, brother of Gwyneth, who just so happens to co-star.  Gary (Martin Freeman) is a man stuck in a rut.  A one time member of a quasi-successful Brit pop group, he now lives in New York, working with his fellow ex-band member Paul (Simon Pegg) and writing commercial jingles.  His relationship with his girlfriend Dora (Paltrow) is stagnating, and he really wants a way out.

His way out presents itself in his dream life, as he meets a gorgeous woman (Penélope Cruz), a supportive, loving and mysterious creature who is of course at his beck and call in the world he creates for them to interact in.  Frustrations from the outside world constantly wake him, the traffic noise, etc., and he takes steps to quiet the apartment, putting up soundproofing tiles on the walls and further alienating and irritating Dora.  Desperate to learn more about his dream girl, he seeks out Mel (Danny DeVito), a gentleman who teaches a course on lucid dreaming.  Mel is able to give him more control over the events in the dreams, and as he retreats further into that, his work and relationship consequently suffer.

Dora leaves for a month to Venice as the representative for the gallery she works at, and isn’t very clear whether or not she’ll be coming home to stay when she returns.  This leaves Gary free to indulge more of his dream life, but the real world begins to intrude as he sees Dora in his dreams now, pursued by packs of Italian men.

He sees Mel again, asking for advice about how to further control the things that keep forcing their way into his subconscious, and then makes a startling discovery:  His dream girl is very much a part of the real world, and not surprisingly, she’s a model that he spots on the side of a passing bus.  Using Paul’s influence in the ad world, they contrive a situation so that Gary can meet Anna, as she is known in reality, and they seem to hit it off.  Their evening goes sour as Gary tries to not so subtly hint that she could dress or behave differently, more in line with what he expects from his dream world, which effectively puts the kibosh on any budding romance he could envision.

Even for a dark comedy, there are not many laughs here, and why Gary would continue to try and prop up the failing relationship with Dora, who comes across as nothing more than a shrew in scene after scene is beyond me.  I’d love to be privy to the conversation between she and her brother regarding her casting: “Hey sis, wrote a script, there’s a depressing harpy role that I have you in mind for…”

Gee, thanks.

The Good Night is a bare bones release, save for a commentary by writer/director Paltrow, and a few trailers for other films.  There are a few amusing moments here and there, but unless you’re a huge fan of those involved, you can probably give this one a pass.

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