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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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    1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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    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

    The Good Night doesn’t quite know where to go with this potentially rich, unsettling material.

    Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
    10/06/07
    Tom Beer
    Tom Beer
    Time Out New York

    A mish-mash of secondhand ideas, with some real misfires.

    Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
    01/18/08
    Peter Bradshaw
    Peter Bradshaw
    Guardian [UK]

    Paltrow's film is Gondry's The Science of Sleep, dulled by an overdose of Lunesta.

    Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
    10/04/07
    Paul Brenner
    Paul Brenner
    Filmcritic.com

    Despite some wry humour, the miscast leads and sour tone are as out of place in this Woody Allen landscape as Gwyneth’s silly wig.

    Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
    01/18/08
    Kat Brown
    Kat Brown
    Empire Magazine

    Sadly not the stuff of dreams.

    Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
    01/18/08
    Laura Bushell
    Laura Bushell
    BBC

    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
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    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

    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

    As a comedy of male delusion, Night seems to shrink from its flimsy dramatic subtexts; as a probing of dream and reality in love, its pretensions to depth suggest a neutered comedic courage: Woody Allen-lite.

    Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
    01/18/08
    Kevin Harley
    Kevin Harley
    Total Film

    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

    The comedy of male midlife angst dates back at least to The Seven-Year Itch, when it was sweet and innocent. Each time it is recycled, it gets more sour and joyless.

    comment Comment
    10/05/07
    Stephen Holden
    Stephen Holden
    New York Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    There is a fine idea for a romantic comedy in Jake Paltrow's The Good Night but the writer-director, in his debut feature, never develops it much beyond the idea stage.

    Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
    01/27/07
    Kirk Honeycutt
    Kirk Honeycutt
    Hollywood Reporter
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    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]

    Skimming through comedy, satire and cautionary tale, it’s all somewhat vague – exasperatingly so when suggestive artiness seems to have been intended. Not as clever as it thinks.

    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    01/18/08
    Trevor Johnston
    Trevor Johnston
    Time Out

    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

    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

    Promising debut from writer-director Jake Paltrow about a sleep-obsessed man who meets the literal girl-of-his-dreams has some perceptive moments amid a lot of tossing and turning.

    Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
    10/03/07
    Joe Lozito
    Joe Lozito
    Big Picture Big Sound

    The sort of movie you forget even as you're watching it.

    Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
    10/05/07
    Lou Lumenick
    Lou Lumenick
    New York Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    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
     
     
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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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