Official Synopsis:
Penelope Cruz, Martin Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Danny DeVito co-star in this wry look at an obsessed man who will do anything to make his passion-filled dream life a reality. Gary Sheller (Freeman) is caught in a midlife crisis: dead-end job, depressing life and a deteriorating relationship with his girlfriend Dora (Paltrow). That is, until he meets Anna (Cruz), the girl of his dreams. Able to see her only while asleep, Gary seeks out an expert on lucid dreaming techniques (DeVito) who agrees to help Gary carry on the most satisfying relationship of his life. But as Gary continues to shun reality, his waking life troubles only worsen in this illuminating dark comedy.
  
Our Take:
Most of the time when you see a straight-to-DVD movie with multiple stars on the cover you go in expecting sub-par material. I’ve always assumed that there’s no way a studio with marketable stars would ever let a film go straight-to-DVD unless it was below average. The Good Night proved me wrong.

This is another film exploring dreams, and that vague line between reality and the subconscious. The dreamer this film hones in on is named Gary. He once had a hit pop record with his band but now lives out his middle age composing music for commercials. He’s in a relationship that is falling apart, and he is pretty much miserable. Then one day he dreams up a girl, Anna, played by Penelope Cruz. He becomes obsessed with her since it’s the only good thing happening in his life, so he explores lucid dreaming to be with her more. If you are unfamiliar with lucid dreaming it’s the technique of being fully conscience in your dream, to allow you to control it.

The film does a decent job juggling all these ideas: midlife crisis, dreams vs. reality, and what really makes you happy in life. Exploring lucid dreaming is always interesting and having Danny DeVito play Mel, a lucid dreaming guru, makes it all the better. The film doesn’t fully realize all the ideas it tries to work with, and it almost feels unfinished. The other big problem with the film is that none of the characters are that likable. Luckily for Jake Paltrow, the director (and yes, Gwyneth Paltrow’s brother), did a great job casting to bring some likability to the characters.

Gary is kind of a loser but Martin Freeman has an innocent enough persona that you cheer for him. Simon Pegg playing the best friend is hysterical; the character is kind of a generic sleaze, sleeping-around type of guy, but Pegg brings his charm so we laugh even if it’s a bit clichéd. Penelope Cruz is enchanting and great to look at. The only real dud in the film is Paltrow as the girlfriend character, Dora. She is never likable and you never get to see why Dora and Gary are together in the first place. Gwyneth never really adds anything to the character to make us cheer for them; she kind of just mopes around being negative and yelling at Gary. She was miscast in the role.

The DVD only has one special feature: a commentary with Jake Paltrow. It’s better than nothing.

The movie is definitely worth a watch. Both Danny DeVito and Simon Pegg bring some genuine laughs and the ideas the movie explores are done well. It’s good that the movie came to DVD instead of a theatrical release, because it’s a better rental than a theatrical experience. If on Friday night you’re looking for an enjoyable film about dreams and a midlife crisis, then The Good Night comes…

RECOMMENDED!

Overall Picture:
Movie: B+
DVD: C

- Adam Rettek
Staff Writer