Courtesy of the San Francisco Film Society.
The Overnight
Written & Directed by Patrick Brice
USA, 2015
“I wanted to make a film about an orgy,” said writer-director Patrick Brice to an enthusiastic audience following a screening of his film The Overnight. With an impeccable cast featuring Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling, Jason Schwartzman and Judith Godrèche, he brings a surprisingly poignant intimacy and earnestness to a story that, in other hands with other actors, could easily have gotten lost in its own kinkiness.
The Overnight begins with Alex (Scott) and Emily (Schilling), who recently relocated to LA from Seattle with their young son and are finding it difficult to adapt socially. When their son makes a new friend on the playground, the couple jumps on the invitation from the other boy’s father, Kurt (Schwartzman) to come over for dinner that night.
Over pizza, wine and Portlandia-worthy conversations about bougie hobbies, Alex and Emily are easily seduced by Kurt and his lovely French wife Charlotte (Godrèche). But after the two kids are put to bed and the evening becomes a sleepover, the four parents are in for a wild night that neither couple entirely predicted.
This is essentially the first full feature film for Brice, who had previously worked with Mark Duplass on the experimental project Creep. Yet from watching, one would never guess that The Overnight was shot in just twelve days, mostly in continuity, and with no rehearsals – the chemistry between the actors and the comedic timing are spot on. The cast responded so well to the material, in fact, that they had no qualms about stripping down for their roles.
“I knew I wanted an obscene amount of male nudity,” joked Brice in response to an audience question about the prosthetic male genitalia used in the film. (A key scene involves skinny-dipping, and Kurt encouraging Alex not to feel insecure about the size of his penis).
“Jason wore his [prosthesis] around all day,” recalled the director.
“[Because it was made of foam] by the end it looked like an elephant trunk.”
But despite all of the broad comedy tropes, The Overnight succeeds because of how grounded the characters are. We laugh with them, not at them, as they struggle with all too real problems such as how to make friends as an adult, body acceptance, managing a household where one parent works and the other doesn’t, and maintaining intimacy and a personal life after parenthood.
“I wanted a movie about sex that didn’t turn the characters into sex objects,” said Brice.
Indeed, the crux of the tension in the narrative lies in the many ways that the two couples are distorted reflections of each other. On the outside, there are two thin, blonde women and their stubbly, brunette husbands who come together for a dinner party. At first Alex and Emily are subtly envious of their hosts for their seemingly exotic lifestyle and unrepentant PDA. But as the night unfolds, and drugs and alcohol loosen their tongues, it becomes clear that Kurt and Charlotte’s marriage is far less picturesque than it seems. Ironically, Brice was just finishing up the screenplay as he and his longtime girlfriend were planning their wedding.
And it’s no coincidence that all the drama goes down inside a recreated French country home whose owners talk about spiritual fulfillment like the weather, create stylized paintings of butt holes and drink sewage water treated by a special filtration system. Kurt and Charlotte represent yuppie, hippie chic at its best.
“Los Angeles is a ridiculous place that needs to be made fun of,” laughed Brice.
Making a solid case for the rated R adult comedy, The Overnight is a delightful trip. Take it even further by watching with a significant other or spouse.