The tone is all over the place.
The Good Night (2007)
Tomatometer
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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.
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
Reviews for The Good Night
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
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.
An all-star cast and Pegg's larger-than-life turn can't stop this offbeat yarn being a bit of a snooze.
Jake Paltrow's script is clever, though, and the ideas he's trying to explore are interesting.
The material is often too bizarre and esoteric for ordinary people to be able to relate to any of it.
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.
If the hero has trouble dozing off, that's not a problem which will affect many viewers of this movie.
Such a big grey blanket of misery it should have been called "Eternal Cloud Cover".
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.
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.
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.
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.
Flawed, but with enough interest to suggest Jake Paltrow may be one to keep an eye out for in future.
Remains aloof and cold throughout, despite the best efforts of its cast to bring some life to the proceedings.
Paltrow's film is Gondry's The Science of Sleep, dulled by an overdose of Lunesta.
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October 04, 2007:
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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. ![]()
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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. ![]()
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