Chassé-croisé

Sam (Matthew Broderick) works in a gourmet food shop in New York City. Of course, he really wants to be a chef, but this job will do for now. However, the pay is not great, making it necessary for him to live with a small pack of roommates. He is also still pining for an eccentric wannabe-actress named Pastel (Jeanne Tripplehorn). One day, he spies a slice of salvation in the newspaper. There is a nice apartment for rent in Manhattan, but only for a couple of nights a week. That's fine with Sam, for the price is right and he can have peace, quiet, and the occasional date with a lady. Ellen (Annabella Sciorra) also sees the ad and is desperate for some time away from her inconsiderate husband. She signs up for two of the days, with plans to pursue her interest in painting. The third tenant is the owner. Brian (Kevin Anderson), an Ivy league stockbroker/sleazebag who wants a place to hang out with his male buds, away from his own domineering fiancé (Justine Bateman). Soon, Sam builds a nice plant holder for Ellen and leaves her some great leftovers. However, through a mixed communication, she believes it is Brian who has done these acts, and she contemplates making a pass at him, despite her marital status. Will the lives of these three people remain separate or will circumstances allow them to meet, even though they are never at the apartment on the same days? This is a nice film with a clever story and script. Only in the Big Apple, I suppose, would you find folks willing to rent a place for only two nights a week. The cast is terrific, with Broderick, especially, giving a very funny and touching performance. As for the costumes, sets and production values, they are great, resulting in a movie that looks mighty nice. If you are a romantic comedy fan, you can't miss this one! It's fresh plot elements and well-drawn characters make it a welcome find in the world of light-hearted love stories. Yet, even if you are not a regular romcom viewer, the film still has some funny situations and universal themes that make it a diverting watch for most anyone.

Mildly entertaining comedy about a threesome timesharing a New York City apartment, but never meet. Broderick is the standout as a fed-up cheese clerk at an upscale grocery store.

While the film itself is barely worth a watch on cable, I thought it was interesting that the movie had no less than three (3!) future Sopranos cast members in roles varying from starring (Anabella Sciorra) to supporting (Dominic Chianese) to walk on (Michael Imperioli). David Chase definitely saw potential in all of these actors, so it's sad to see that the movie really wasted Sciorra's talents...

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.

A tad different from most romance comedies. This film is light, yet contains a slightly dark edge with the subject matter.

"What are you, Camus?"

Such an Allenesque line, and when you spot Woody's ex-wife Louise Lasser in a supporting role, and a kooky French female character messing our hero Sam (Matthew Broderick) about...well, the movie rings a few NYC bells.

An interesting premise, in both senses of the spelling. Three people, who don't know each other, all in personal life predicaments, have alternate days renting an apartment. One is a lovelorn cheesemonger (really), another is a dissatisfied dental hygienist (again, that's very Woody), and the third is an oafish city boy on the cusp of marriage, unwilling to give up his bachelor lifestyle altogether. Two of them start leaving cute messages and stuff for one another, but mistaken identity leads to a confused situation.

New York plays its own part in these movies. New York movies are practically a genre unto themselves. This is a cute but slight movie, and its peculiar premise gives it distinction in the rom-com field. One just wishes it were funnier, and maybe one more character with a stronger screen presence. The fact that the three alternating tenants never run into one another, at least before the denouement, seems improbable.

But definitely worth checking out.