Review of Night Owls

Night Owls (I) (2015)
6/10
Rosa Salazar saves this picture for me... only very mild spoilers
25 July 2016
Warning: Spoilers
She's great. Her dialog and character has depth and impact, and she does a fantastic job with the physical nature of her role here.

Night Owls isn't a new formula.. it's basically "The Apartment" from 1960 with a modern "Very Bad Things"/"The Overnight" kinda vibe to go along with it.

The lead actor here is also fine, but maybe a bit too obtuse, weak, and perhaps gullible to be a likable character. The other issue I have is his job. The whole sports theme, for me, seemed like a bad idea. I wish they would have made the role of "Will" a white collar financial type or something a bit more of a 'professional' dynamic. For me that whole sub-plot is kinda weakened by making him a college football coach. Even some of the writing there is a little sloppy. Like if he's such a legendary coach with such a flawless track record, then why is he at such a small school. That's a minor quip, but it's more of a dynamic thing, as the film has that high-brow look and feel, and that dynamic just doesn't work for me.

All nitpicking aside. The leads here have some chemistry, and there's some decent laughs(mostly physical comedy). I did feel some emotion and their connection.

The film isn't overlong or fancy. An adult-indie that is pretty fun for the first hour. The ending is a bit predictable but not terrible.

Wouldn't mind seeing Rosa in some bigger roles.

59/100
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