One Night at McCool's (2001)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Harald Zwart

Writer (WGA):

Stan Seidel (written by)

Release Date:

27 April 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

She's three men over the legal limit

Plot:

Every man has a different recollection of the beautiful young woman who wreaked havoc on their lives during one heated night.

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Bartender | Robbery | Bar | Sadomasochism

Cast

Matt Dillon	...	Randy
Mary Jo Smith	...	Bingo Caller
Michael Douglas	...	Mr. Burmeister
Paul Reiser	...	Carl Harding
Reba McEntire	...	Dr. Green
John Goodman	...	Detective Dehling
Richard Jenkins	...	Father Jimmy
Sandy Martin	...	Bingo Vendor Woman
Liv Tyler	...	Jewel Valentine
Andrew Dice Clay	...	Utah / Elmo (as Andrew Silverstein)
Ric Sarabia	...	Uniformed Cop at Bar
Tim De Zarn	...	Detective Ertagian (as Tim Dezarn)
Leo Rossi	...	Joey Dinardo
Rob Neukirch	...	Deliveryman
Andrea Bendewald	...	Karen

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Denmark:15 | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SX | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:PG (cut) | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Agoura Hills, California, USA

Company:

Further Films

Trivia:

The real McCool's in St. Louis was considered to be too drab to film in.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: John Goodman's character in the movie states that he is working with the St. Louis, Missouri police department and other references in the movie suggest that location also, however when Matt Dillion steals an SUV in the last scenes, the car has three surfboards attached to the rack on top of the vehicle. (At best, the closest place to surf is 300 miles away on Lake Michigan - unlikely, or slightly more likely 650 miles away on the Gulf of Mexico, or most likely more than 900 miles away at Virginia Beach, Va).

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bingo Caller: N-43. Four-three on the N.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Falling Down (1993)

Soundtrack:

So Hot

Roshomon meets American Pie...if only the writing held up to the end

Few could seriously argue that ONE NIGHT AT McCOOL'S is great film making - it doesn't even really live up to the title which is merely the opening for each of the three stories (interrelated perspectives) we follow drawn from the events which began one night at a watering hole named McCool's. Great film making or not, the film knows how to push most of the right buttons and quote the right classic models for a good "naughty" time, and most viewers will have such a good time before the story's energy runs out in the last 20 minutes, that they won't really care.

Matt Dillon turns in a fine performance (and not just his from eyebrows and abs - though they get their usual workout) as the put-upon bartender who gets drawn into the increasingly outrageous chain of events by the beauteous (and predictably amoral) Liv Tyler as bodies - dead and otherwise - start to pile up. The main story thread is told for most of the film in flashback as Dillon, at a low point in his life, recruits aid from an oddly cast Michael Douglas. Paul Reiser is his cousin, in the midst of a severe midlife crisis and explaining his story to his new therapist, Reba McEntire (turning in another delightful set of reactions) and John Goodman is the policeman - and one true innocent in the story - also drawn into the web of events by lost love and seeking council from his all too interested parish priest, Richard Jenkins.

Inocence and midlife frustration are not rewarded in a film like this (stick around for the punchline joke life plays on Reiser at the end - it's a drop-dead killer!), but for the Saturday night crowd who wants a happy ending, Dillon gets one Moliere would have been proud of, and in this case, even the modern version of a "Tartuffe" may get to ride happily off into the sunset.

A solid supporting cast TV viewers will smile at (Andrea Bendewald, a chilly blonde source of laughs in so many shows, is particularly good in the small role of Reiser's wife) keeps things rolling and occasionally adds just by the baggage they bring. Completing the mix is a surprisingly satisfying double role tossed to Andrew Dice Clay (nearly unrecognizable in each) as the "friend" who starts and finishes the whole chain of events.

The McGuffin here is "house hunger," and those who love ONE NIGHT AT McCOOL'S should seek out Harold Prince's twisted black comedy fairy tale, SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE where Michael York has the same weakness. It might make a great double feature.