One More Night a.k.a. The Lather Effect follows in the tradition of The Big Chill. A group of thirty-something friends get together for an ’80s rager party. We open on the next morning, and besides being “TPed”, the house is simply chaos. The remaining guests are the die hards, and either they can’t take a hint or they’re struggling to disconnect their roots from the past. The latter (not lather) is the case and each character recounts their drunken exploits from the previous night only to start rehashing the good old days.
It’s not long before everyone’s in on the trip down memory lane. Don’t worry, ’80s nostalgia movies don’t have flashbacks for a reason. The ideals of the past seem to hold up much better in the future. One More Night is about friends, love, betrayal, infidelity and knowing when to keep your mouth shut. These people manage to elude the responsibilities of jobs, kids and marriage to remember their high school days… from losing their virginity to brandishing their homecoming or “best song of all time”.
The direction doesn’t draw too much attention to itself and allows the writing to carry the story. Sarah Kelly must be from Generation X and there’s no doubt that she was influenced by John Hughes in the feel-good resolve of One More Night. The writing is full of heart and doesn’t tie everything in a big yellow ribbon. The performances are good and it also helps that the cast is relatively unknown.
Connie Britton plays Valinda, the “Rachel” and host of the party. She’s a good lead and Kelly allows the whole ensemble enough breathing space. Comedian Dave Herman makes an appearance as the foul-mouthed Corey, while Eric Stoltz appears as Mickey. The players are introduced quite steadily and this makes the whole meet and greet quite interesting as one tries to connect the dots.
The journey is fun, revealing and by the end of the movie, you feel like you’ve got to give those guys a call to say thanks for the great catch up. This is probably what the Friends movie will and should become. The drama, love and life stories mesh in this character-driven piece. The ensemble make a great team effort to lift One More Night out of the shoebox. Best of all, you don’t need to have been a child of the ’80s to enjoy this comedy/drama. The theme may be stuck in 1986, but that doesn’t mean the human emotion and rite of passage has changed much.
One More Night has a nice collection of ’80s music and charges the film with snippets from the era with an ode to the “Swamprat”. One More Night has a distinct class of ’80s reunion feel, but the relaxed setting and friendly atmosphere make the experience enjoyable. Don’t be surprised if the movie resonates with your feelings of nostalgia, and who knows - maybe you’ll need to reach for a Kleenex. One More Night isn’t going to replace The Big Chill, but will hold a special place in many people’s hearts.
The bottom line: Nostalgic.
