The Night We Never Met (1993)

Perfect cast and a good story

Good concept, poorly executed.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

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.

I missed the first quarter of this which I guess has a lot of Broderick working in the gourmet store, but I still really enjoyed this film. Romantic comedies are to take a date to or watch with a date, which I didn't do because I was alone at work, but a show I would normally pass when channel surfing caught my eye when I saw Broderick because I think he's great. This has a couple of really laugh out loud funny scenes but the one I really cracked up on was when the lead chick sleeps with the wrong guy by mistake. It wasn't that she had the wrong guy so much but the way the guy acted on the date, I mean to me it was hilarious! Than afterward, "can you hold me?" , he replies "What I thought we were done!" you have to see it and understand what I'm talking about but the sex involved set a speed record, just really funny and it didn't even have Broderick in it. The scenes he are in are all pretty good, he plays a great loser. He's not as much a loser as he was in Election or Cable Guy but still a great character. If your a Broderick fan this is worth watching, or if your a guy looking for a romantic comedy you could watch all the way through without cringing this one is worth seeing. I'm not sure, as others have said, its very romantic but I did find it funny. 7 of 10.

THE NIGHT WE NEVER METSam (Matthew Broderick) is the reasonable man in a crazy urban world, the man of thoughtfulness and refined taste in a landscape of Leroy Neiman paintings and beer commercials. The guy would sooner cook for an hour over a hot stove than say `supersize it.'By day he's a store clerk in an upscale gourmet eatery, and these scenes raise a smile, especially for anyone who's visited the actual chain in New York City -- the portrayal isn't far off from the reality. Our man is besieged by hoards of customers who want their imported French cheese cut to impossibly exact standards. His efforts to remain outwardly polite (while you know he'd like to take the cleaver to the relentless clientele) are pretty funny, and will warm the hearts of clerks everywhere. In general, Broderick is in good form and provides the movie with most of whatever lightness it possesses.Sciorra's lovelorn dental hygienist, Ellen, is fine enough, too, and her unknowing interaction with our cheese-slicing hero shows some hopeful chemistry, and you may begin to feel you want to see these two get together.One of the main competitors for our lady's affections, a stockbroker (Kevin Anderson), is played as caricature: he's the beer swilling frat-boy whose idea of after-sex sensitivity is flipping on the football game. He's kind of funny at times, but the movie might be stronger if he was written or acted for us to like him more, instead of having us merely recognize him as the flat-out `wrong' guy in comparison to Broderick's sensitive man. Think of John Candy in Splash, taking a cigarette and beer can to the racquetball game; we know his lifestyle is not the one our hero should emulate, but we can't help but be charmed by the likeable goon. Whereas this character is merely a goon, and pretty unlikable all around.While it's a nice enough light movie for the first half, for me the story was somewhat derailed by its unbelievable (Hollywood) presentation of sex and adultery. (SPOILER AHEAD, skip to next paragraph.) When Ellen returns home after an evening's misadventures, she is naturally faced with the questioning husband (Michael Mantell). Quickly admitting her own indiscretion, she then immediately turns the situation around, demanding to know why the guy had gone ahead and bought a house without discussing it. Granted, it's a valid issue, and granted, many people use this countering maneuver in arguments. What's unbelievable is what happens next: the guy starts responding to her question, addressing the house-issue in a quiet, thoughtful manner. WHOA. You'd be hard pressed to find a married person in the world who, when faced with his/her partner's totally unexpected adultery, would be ready to address anything so calmly. The guy would surely be bouncing off the walls, or else crushed into silence and tears - but see, then we might actually feel for the poor schnook, and we'd see Sciorra's character in a poor light. And since that particular audience reaction doesn't serve the romantic comedy, the story tries to sneak around it. You may start to feel that, like the husband, you're being taken.Further dissatisfaction is just around the corner in the ending. We realize this is where misunderstandings will get sorted out, and our couple will finally see a clear path to one another. We want the satisfaction of rooting for them. But it's marred by another unbelievable character reaction, followed by an abrupt conclusion that feels rushed and forced, too easy and unearned. You may feel as though the movie's cheating on you again...Anyway if you catch it on cable I recommend the gourmet market scenes. Maybe we'll all be more understanding of the overworked clerks in this great land of ours. :)

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.