Night Club

I was privileged to see "Night Club" last evening at a World Premiere event at the Phoenix Film Festival.

Not only was it great to see such seasoned actors in this film like Ernest Borgnine and Mickey Rooney, and others, but I thought Sally Kellerman, who played Dorothy, portrayed the Alzheimer's patient perfectly. I had a Father who had Alzheimer's Disease and I could see in the demeanor of Dorothy who my Father had become before his death. I believe this is a movie that all of us who have aging parents must see! I also think that all those that work in nursing homes, especially the administrators and owners of these care facilities should see this film, it will help to open up their eyes to possibilities of care and caring. There is more to care in a treatment facility than having our elders just sit around till their lives end and we know like in this movie many of them are doing just that. We will all find ourselves growing older in time with the possibility of having to enter a nursing home, if we begin now to improve the quality of care in these facilities we can look forward to being cared for in a manner with dignity and love as these three young students in this movie ended up doing. Before these care facilities were implemented we had families caring for our elderly, there is no reason a nursing home cannot feel like "home", after all they are called nursing "homes".

I believe this movie could make an impact on how we treat our elders, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles when they get near the end of their lives and need assistance with everyday living.

Kudos to the Director: Sam Borowski, Writers: Larry Delrose and Tom Hass, and the Stars: Ernest Borgnine, Mickey Rooney, Sally Kellerman, Madison Liddy, and all the others who were willing to put in their time and effort to produce a well scripted and well portrayed film.

Although the concept of this film seems somewhat interesting, the film almost instantly loses the viewer's interest because it starts off with horrible acting combined with cheesy clichés delivered by a typical young male. However, looking past that, the musical selection for the opening credits seemed fitting to the theme of the film and this might regain the viewer's attention. During the film, the lack of background sounds or music made it seem like an amateur film on a very low budget. The camera angles and frame shots were poorly executed and this greatly impacted the visual aspects of film-making that are designed for enhancement.

The acting was a bit over-done and the story took a very long time to develop. Thirty minutes into the film, the main idea was not yet depicted and the scenes seemed drawn-out and full of unnecessary filler material. The close-ups were cliché throughout the film and did not contribute to the visual imagery. The lighting was extremely basic and had no effect on the set or the actors. All in all I would not give this film a high rating because every aspect of it was quite rudimentary and lacked substance which failed to draw my attention. I would not recommend it to anyone.

What can I say about Nigh Club? The film had heart, I'll give it that... but even that had little effect on my opinion, as any emotion that may have been produced by this films good intentions were quickly overpowered by a never ending stream of terrible dialog, God-awful cinematography, and poor acting. The film's title essentially sums up the movie, a night club is created for the elderly at a local rest home, and the protagonist masterminds this whole thing is so dis-likable, that you often find yourself hoping he fails, just so you can breathe a sigh of relief. A weak and unsupported romance also follows our hero throughout the film, and only in the end (after receiving a million dollars) does she finally come back to him... (AHEM!) can anybody say terrible timing? Aside from the apparent money hungry hussy, it was clear the director did not plan out any of the small details that would have made this film believable.

-Jim

Sally Kellerman, Ernest Borgnine, Rance Howard, Mickey Rooney, Jan Rooney, Paul Sorvino, and Chuck McCann. Those are just a few of the classic Hollywood actors that Sam Borowski's Night Club has to offer. Don't mistake those roles as throw away paychecks though, as every single actor named puts in a performance worthy of Oscar Buzz. No film you will see this year can offer as much heart, soul, poignancy, humor, and joy. The film is something of a miracle that combines beautiful cinematography, solid writing, and assured direction to create a film, along with excellent acting, that will give you your money's worth and more. Independent film takes a step forward with Night Club and its up and coming director Sam Borowski. If you have older people in your life this films is for you, if you enjoy college age shenanigans this film is for you, and if you grew up in the 80's or love the films of that time this film is surely for you. I fell in love with Night Club the second I heard a new (excellent) rendition of Quarterflash's Night Shift put over top of a great opening montage. The film is reminiscent of a film called Night Shift which paved the way for Ron Howard and Michael Keaton (director and actor respectively). I say this because Sam Borowski and first time actor Bryan Williams combine their talents to light up the screen. The film is shot so well, set to a fantastic soundtrack (very 80's inspired) and score that you will not be disappointed by its independent budget. I haven't talked about the plot but if you read the plot summary that's all you need to know going in, because the film grabs you immediately and never lets go. Besides excellent performances from Kellerman and Borgnine Ahney Her and Bryan Williams'(previously mentioned) on-screen chemistry is comedy gold and proves that the two of them are here to stay in this business and I cannot wait to see them in all of their upcoming projects. Sam Borowski delivers a crazy-impressive first feature film and one not to be missed by every audience member of the four quadrants. Seek this film out at whatever theater or film festival you can (Newport Beach is the only one announced yet (I doubt only for long though)) because you won't regret it and in fact the film will touch you deeper than you thought possible. So do yourself a favor and don't make a Big Mistake and see Night Club and fall in love with it just like I did.

NIGHT CLUB is a unique film in that it blends both humor (from one-liners to slapstick) and drama (including some very poignant moments) and does so very well. It was great also to see such a mix of young 20-something actors holding their own on the screen with legendary veterans such as Ernest Borgnine and Mickey Rooney. Some of the scenes are laugh-out-loud funny; others are gripping and almost push you to tears. The film is very well-paced and doesn't have any lulls. NIGHT CLUB tugs on the heart strings. It's very unexpected and very welcome ... especially in an age of movie-going where most films are either sequels, remakes or follow the same dumb story lines. Bravo!