La notte che non c'incontrammo

Three New Yorkers decide to share a Greenwich Village apartment, rotating use of the place for different purposes, on different days. First up is bearded gourmet cheese clerk Matthew Broderick (as Sam Lester); he wants a quiet place to cook romantic dinners for dates, and hopefully have sex. Next tenant is bored painter Annabella Sciorra (as Ellen); she wants a place to paint, and also considers an extramarital affair. Third is well-coiffed sports fan Kevin Anderson (as Brian McVeigh); he wants a place to drink beer and watch ballgames with the guys, without fiancée Justine Bateman (as Janet Beehan) around. The three mix-up their days and Ms. Sciorra accidentally targets Mr. Anderson as a sex partner when she really wants Mr. Broderick. Oops...

***** The Night We Never Met (4/30/93) Warren Leight ~ Matthew Broderick, Annabella Sciorra, Kevin Anderson, Justine Bateman

My review was written in April 1993 after watching the film in a Times Square screening room.

A quintessential New York movie, "The Night We Never Met" takes a novel premise and develops it in fits and starts. A guaranteed crowd-pleaser on its home turf, episodic effort could attract a hip audience elsewhere as well.

Debuting filmmaker Warren Leight has come up with an offbeat notion: time-sharing a Greenwich Village apartment by days of the week (practice exists, but is hardly a trend). Hissable yuppie Kevin Anderson is behind the scheme, wanting two nights out a week with his poker-playing, football watching buddies while living with patrician fiancee Justine Bateman.

One customer is Matthew Broderick, moping over losing his performance artist girlfriend Pastel (Jeanne Tripplehorn, spoofing a familiar downtown type). Broderick is sharing a flat with too many noisy, vulgar roommates and needs a crash pad.

Third tenant is frustrated housewife Annabella Sciorra, who uses it to get away from her dense husband (Michael Mantell) and spend a couple of days painting.

This format allows Leight to develop some surefire situation comedy. The three tenants never met but are aware of their differing habits: boorish slob Anderson leaves a mess each time; Sciorra fixes up pretty curtains and furnishings; Broderick is a gourmet cook (he works in an upscale food store) who provides fabulous leftovers for Sciorra.

Plot is set in motion when Anderson innocently switches one of his designated days with Broderick but doesn't update the posted schedule, causing Sciorra to confuse the two guys, swearing at Broderick over the phone for leaving a mess and fixing her sights on a romance with "dream guy" Anderson.

Finale has the threesome of nearly 30-year-olds finally meeting in the apartment, but not until after Sciorra has slept with Anderson, almost ruining her life, and further complications when (predictably) fiancee Batemean half-learns of the apartment and assumes Anderson carries on all week long.

Wonderfully atmospheric use of New York locations and familiar characters bring "Night" to life. Unfortunately, there are many scenes, particularly those of Anderson and his obnoxious pals, which kill time and detract from the romantic leads. Ultimately it's not really as much an ensemble piece as a film of alternating casts or vignettes.

Broderick, making a notable screen comeback after his laughless "Out on a Limb" fiasco, is utterly convincing as the hapless hero. Sciorra immediately garners sympathy, giving the film some heart and depth beyond the surface yocks. Anderson throws himself whole-heartedly into his stereotyped assignment.

Garry Shandling pops up uncredited as a wiseguy patient of dental hygienist Sciorra, while Christine Baranski is perfect as Sciorra's best friend.

Lensin gby John Thomas (who photographed Gotham-set "Metropolitan") is sharp and Evan Lurie's sprightly score is a definite asset.

I rented this on a whim, when it first came to video stores in late '93 or early '94. I was so charmed by it that I went back and bought it the next weekend, since I knew it would be cheaper than renting it as much as I knew I would. I watch it all the time, to pick up my spirits after a bad break-up, to commiserate with Sam when the world of love has left me cold, or when I feel a strong need to laugh at French performance artists. I can't recommend it highly enough as a great date movie, great for watching with a group of friends, and maybe best ingested when alone. I LOVE THIS MOVIE. If anyone knows of a soundtrack for it, please post a message.

"The Night We Never Met" tells of three people, all in relationships, who timeshare a NYC flat with a weekly rotation. The trio has not met but do get to know each other by leaving notes, phone calls, and the inevitable traces of their occupancy which, of course, leads to romance between principals Sciorra and Broderick. A cute little bit of B- fluff which is well cast with a clever premise, "Night..." muddles a little in the middle, runs a tad long, and could have ended better. Nonetheless, it's worth a look. Now on cable.

Great performances highlight this small story, which has a great hook and some forgivable flaws. The main themes of communication and isolation are given time to flesh themselves out in three separate stories that center around a shared apartment. I like the pacing in this film, it's slow enough to wrap itself around the story, but not so slow as to drag.

The three main female characters are all good, especially Tripplehorn as Pastel, the avant-garde artist and pseudo girlfriend of Broderick. I've never seen her do any better with a character. Broderick has a curious role to play as a man who is tolerant of others up to a point (like his view of Sciorra's illogical behavior), but still has the serenity to offer marital advice to a woman who has just put him through a frustrating case of coitus interruptus. Sciorra's character is more problematic - she has a definite fear-aggression streak that gets tempered somewhat by the end, but there's also a good deal of "tough chick" bravado in her performance that makes it interesting.

I wasn't completely convinced by all of the transformations in the final ten minutes of the movie, but it ties things up neatly enough so you don't feel cheated and leaves enough room for the characters to grow further after the final shot.