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The Good Night

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The Good Night (2007)

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Reviews Counted:41

Fresh:12

Rotten:29

Average Rating:4.8/10

Consensus: That The Good Night is the work of a first-time writer/director is apparent, as the story feels disjointed and never connects with the audience.

Rated: R

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Oct 5, 2007 Limited

Synopsis: Jake Paltrow directs his sister Gwyneth in this take on the midlife crisis. Gary (Martin Freeman) was once riding high as the member of a successful pop band. Now, seven years later, the band is no... Jake Paltrow directs his sister Gwyneth in this take on the midlife crisis. Gary (Martin Freeman) was once riding high as the member of a successful pop band. Now, seven years later, the band is no more and he pays the bills by composing mediocre music for commercials. To further add to his unhappiness, his relationship with his girlfriend, Dora (Paltrow), appears to be on its last legs. The only thing Gary looks forward to anymore is sleeping--so that he might have a reoccurring dream about a beautiful mystery woman he calls Anna (Penelope Cruz). He even goes so far as to take dream workshops taught by a scruffy eccentric named Mel (Danny Devito), in the hopes of prolonging his experiences in his subconscious. He soon becomes obsessed with escaping into his dreamworld, and his real life begins to fall apart. Depressed and confused, he finally has a revelatory dream wherein he realizes he needs to make a major change and return to reality. He plots a grand romantic gesture to get his life back on track, but the plan backfires with rather shocking and tragic results. Martin Freeman gives an endearing performance as the befuddled Gary, and Gwyneth Paltrow is splendidly obnoxious as the nagging, frowning Dora. Viewers should take note, while THE GOOD NIGHT is billed as a romantic comedy, it's definitely not standard fare. It certainly has its share of laughs and feel good moments, but it also has some pretty dark undertones that one doesn't usually find in the rom-com genre. [More]

Starring: Martin Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Penelope Cruz, Simon Pegg

Starring: Martin Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Penelope Cruz, Simon Pegg, Danny De Vito, Keith Allen, Michael Gambon

Director: Jake Paltrow

Director: Jake Paltrow
Screenwriter: Jake Paltrow
Producer: Donna Gigliotti, Bill Johnson
Composer: Alec Puro
Studio: Yari Film Group

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Release:

Apr 1, 2008

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Penélope 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.
  • Source: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
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    Reviews for The Good Night

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    Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
    11/24/07
    Film Threat

    Flawed, but with enough interest to suggest Jake Paltrow may be one to keep an eye out for in future.

    Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
    06/13/08
    Amber Wilkinson
    Amber Wilkinson
    Eye for Film

    Writer-director Jake Paltrow's (yes, brother of Gwennie) debut feature is exquisitely romantic, painful, and riotous; everyone's lonely and going about it wrong.

    Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly | comment Comment
    02/03/08
    Amy Nicholson
    Amy Nicholson
    I.E. Weekly

    The Good Night is a superlative feature film from Jake Paltrow; a fulfilling buffet of aches and pains from the discontented, poured into an amusing, uneasy comedic fantasy that barely misses a step.

    Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment Comment
    03/11/08
    Brian Orndorf
    Brian Orndorf
    DVDTalk.com

    The Good Night takes familiar (embarrassingly familiar) male-angst material and makes it go loop-de-loop, so that the jokes hit you from behind and underneath while the bleakness smacks you in the face.

    Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
    10/01/07
    David Edelstein
    David Edelstein
    New York Magazine
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    ...a low-key yet consistently engaging effort...

    Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
    05/12/08
    David Nusair
    David Nusair
    Reel Film Reviews

    With The Good Night, like any worthwhile dream, you may not be able to fully appreciate the experience, but after you wake up, you vaguely sense that you accomplished something while being out

    Full Review Source: Bangitout.com | comment Comment
    10/02/07
    Jordan Hiller
    Jordan Hiller
    Bangitout.com

    Jake Paltrow's first feature delves assuredly into the mind of a lost soul who literally encounters the woman of his dreams.

    Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
    01/27/07
    Justin Chang
    Justin Chang
    Variety

    Jake Paltrow's script is clever, though, and the ideas he's trying to explore are interesting.

    Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
    01/30/07
    Kim Voynar
    Kim Voynar
    Cinematical

    The Good Night doesn't quite comfortably synthesize all the notions writer-director Jake Paltrow wants to play with in his feature debut. But the filmmaker's got good taste -- and luck -- in casting.

    Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
    10/03/07
    Lisa Schwarzbaum
    Lisa Schwarzbaum
    Entertainment Weekly
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A buddy rom-com featuring Martin Freeman and Simon Pegg owes its success to on-screen chemistry but fails to shake the foundations of the silver screen.

    Full Review Source: Monsters and Critics | comment Comment
    10/05/07
    Ron Wilkinson
    Ron Wilkinson
    Monsters and Critics

    What comedy there is fails to ignite and the romance is stillborn since we don’t care who sleeps with whom or whether they do it in real life or the dream world.

    Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
    01/18/08
    Wendy Ide
    Wendy Ide
    Times [UK]

    The movie drags on.

    Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
    11/02/07
    Bob Strauss
    Bob Strauss
    Los Angeles Daily News

    If the hero has trouble dozing off, that's not a problem which will affect many viewers of this movie.

    Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment Comment
    01/18/08
    Christopher Tookey
    Christopher Tookey
    Daily Mail [UK]

    The material is often too bizarre and esoteric for ordinary people to be able to relate to any of it.

    Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment Comment
    10/02/07
    Edward Douglas
    Edward Douglas
    ComingSoon.net

    Feature debut of Jake Platrow (brother of star Gwyneth Paltrow, who co-stars) is a disappointing meditation on the danger and seductiveness of dreams, a pale imitation of Woody Allen's edgier urban comedies.

    Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
    10/31/07
    Emanuel Levy
    Emanuel Levy
    EmanuelLevy.Com

    Remains aloof and cold throughout, despite the best efforts of its cast to bring some life to the proceedings.

    Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
    10/04/07
    Ethan Alter
    Ethan Alter
    Film Journal International

    Unsympathetic characters, a lead performer that does not register, and a script that comes across like improvisations do not bode well for Jake Paltrow's debut feature.

    Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
    10/01/07
    Harvey S. Karten
    Harvey S. Karten
    Compuserve

    As thin and wispy as a dream you can't quite remember in the morning.

    Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
    10/05/07
    Jack Mathews
    Jack Mathews
    New York Daily News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The Good Night has flashes of bookish wit, but never quite recovers from the metronomic monotony of its first half.

    Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
    10/04/07
    Jan Stuart
    Jan Stuart
    Newsday
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
     
     
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    September 30, 2007: This sleepyhead Prince Charming is in for a rude awakening when the choosy, chain smoking Anna, actual female that she is, finds him an annoying loser, and at best undesirable. Au revoir, unconditional love. Someone wake me when it's over. Opens in new window
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    August 23, 2007: Kid brother Jake Paltrow gets behind the camera to direct celeb sibling Gwyneth in a cerebral yarn about a failed musician who compensates for a bummer of a life by falling in love with the woman of his dreams literally, that he visits in his sleep. Opens in new window
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