Review: Night Owls (2015)

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My review of the wonderful Night Owls is now up at Rogerebert.com.

I had never heard of this thing, or, not anything specific: it played the Chicago Critics Film Fest earlier this year. I went into it cold (which I’ve been having a lot of fun doing – and easier to do with these smaller films, where there isn’t much advance press.)

And holy shit, it’s awesome! It’s a screwball romantic comedy, for real! I have mourned the death of true screwball. It shows up here and there (maybe more in television, there are episodes of Supernatural that are pure screwball) – but as an art, practiced in a mainstream way, you just don’t see it much anymore. Something is lost: the fastness of the dialogue, the certainty of the physical behavior (timed down to the second), the embrace of the wacky and the kooky, not to mention actors who can pull it off without seeming phony, or straining.

Night Owls is SO GOOD. In the first 20 minutes, it made me laugh so loud that I had to pause my screener and scream to the heavens. I couldn’t even continue. And it wasn’t dialogue that was funny: it was a bit of physical BUSINESS. As eloquent and funny as Cary Grant setting his socks on fire in “Bringing Up Baby.” And wait, there’s more!! The film is funny and ends up actually being really ABOUT something, but why it should be treasured is these two actors, their facility with language/humor/business – and what they create together. They are really the only ones in the movie (one guy is seen on the phone, briefly, and one other character shows up for one scene at the end.) But the rest? It’s all them.

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Adam Pally and Rosa Salazar, “Night Owls”

I HIGHLY recommend it. I feel the need to shout this to the high heavens and be an evangelist for it (and for Christmas, Again, which came out yesterday – you can rent it on iTunes) because Night Owls isn’t the kind of film that is on anyone’s radar. The actors are not stars. (Although they should be. Maybe they will be. Regardless: they’re amazing). It’s a first feature for the director. No A-list “names” are involved.

Put it on your radar. See it. Screwball is alive and well!

Again: My review of Night Owls is now up at Rogerebert.com.

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10 Responses to Review: Night Owls (2015)

  1. Sheila says:

    Direct TV subscribers can now see it there.

    Yeah I’m championing Christmas, Again and Night Owls.

    These movies excite me: low budget, good writing, no pressure to be anything other than themselves.

  2. Jessie says:

    Oh man I love Adam Pally so much, this is so exciting!!!

  3. Butler says:

    A comedy with Adam Pally? And a good review of it here? I’m in

    That’s a nice poster too. I hope a movie like this can still get some word of mouth.

    • sheila says:

      I know isn’t the poster great??

      NY Times liked it too. Haven’t seen a bad review yet.

      It works so so well. Can’t remember the last time I laughed this much and this hard at a current movie.

      But it’s not “light.” It’s quite substantial.

  4. Maureen says:

    I am really excited to see this, I am a big fan of Adam Pally. Loved him in the series Happy Endings, which I thought was hilarious, and was sad when it was cancelled.

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