Review of The Overnight (2015) by Cherie A — 12 Jan 2016

The Overnight is a light, energetic and subversive take on the sex comedy subgenre. But while its ambition is commendable and it definitely tries to push the limits on taboos around fluid sexuality and how this can be depicted in a romantic comedy, it never quite achieves the impact it wants to.

The film follows Adam Scott and Taylor Schilling as a married couple in a new town who meet Jason Schwartzman and Judith Godreche - a 'Manic Pixie Dream Couple' of sorts who expand their horizons on the world. The performances are solid and the story is definitely unpredictable, and as it unfolds it flirts with all kinds of ideas about where the film may be headed - the dialogue is witty, and the discussions of marriage, open relationships, sexual openness, revelation and experimentation gives the film an edge that does make it interesting and new. But the film never commits to any of these ideas, and in the end it ends up being just as safe as the sex comedies that is first appears to be transcending.

Unfortunately the film is also never even that funny or romantic; so it doesn't work as a romantic comedy either.

The Overnight is an offbeat indie comedy that misses the mark on being the edgy sex film it wants to be. It does flirt with some interesting ideas that challenge the status quo around sexuality and marriage, but a failure to really commit to these ideas makes this film pretty lacklustre and forgettable.