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All Flixster 3.0 Stars (2974) Want To See 877 Not Interested 4825
Female 2.5 Stars (1444) Want To See 426 Not Interested 2342
Male 2.5 Stars (1530) Want To See 451 Not Interested 2483

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Plot: A giddy attempt to combine a standard film noir plot and a contemporary sex farce about men who (to quote John Hiatt's song) let their little heads do the thinking, One Night at McCool's is a p...( read more read more... )romising comedy that never hits full speed, coasting along amiably enough before spiraling into violence that clashes with its trashy sensibility. It's not as polished as Grosse Pointe Blank, but it's fun enough to recommend, especially for those who drool at the sight of Liv Tyler. The movie begins by suggesting that Liv is sexy, then proceeds to prove it, and then continually insists upon it until you're left with no choice but to wholeheartedly agree. It's an easy choice, but pity the movie's wretched guys for making it.

As bombshell Jewell Valentine, Tyler lures three guys into her criminal scheme of happy homemaking. Bartender Matt Dillon's the first to take the bait; as Dillon's lawyer cousin, Paul Reiser can't resist; and when murder complicates everything, detective John Goodman employs his own love-struck brand of chivalry. Sporting a tacky pompadour, Michael Douglas steals the show as a hit man hired to whack the scheming sexpot--and Andrew Dice Clay is surprisingly funny in a dangerous dual role--but of course Liv can hold her own. It's all quite amusing, but rarely is McCool's as funny as you hope it will be; the dialogue by Stan Seidel (who sadly died before filming completed) is zesty enough but lacks the Coenesque punch that would kick it over the top. It hardly matters, though; with a femme fatale like Liv in control, the movie's faults will be easily forgiven. --Jeff Shannon

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Recent Reviews


  • 2.0 Stars
    MCT:
    July 21, 2008
    Tyler may be good enough for the part but it's not good enough for her - she comes of as a bitch more than anything. So if we can't see what these guys see in her, how can the movie work? Goodman's really the only convincing argument, and outside of Dice and Reba's amusing supporting roles, there isn't any justification for the first two unfunny acts. And if you didn't all ready hate Paul Reiser...
  • 3.5 Stars
    MCT:
    July 11, 2008
    Funny movie, with an interesting and original plot and some excellents performances by Liv Tyler, Matt Dillon and John Goodman.

    The ending shootout is unforgettable.
  • 3.5 Stars
    MCT:
    June 20, 2008
    I caught this on Starz a couple of days ago and really liked this film. I love dark comedy and Liz did a great job.
  • 3.0 Stars
    MCT:
    April 19, 2008
    To me One Night At McCool's felt like a mix of There's Something About Mary and a John Landis movie but without the striking quality. A good premise here but it doesn't come together aswell as Mary and also isnt as funny. John Goodman was his usualy high standard and nice to see Paul Reiser in a larger cinema role.
  • 3.5 Stars
    MCT:
    April 14, 2008
    When you decide to go see a film with Liv Tyler that is already immortalised by a car-washing scene where she sprays herself more than the car, you probably get the perfectly logical feeling that all else will pale in comparison. Thankfully, Norwegian director Harald Zwart does not overly rely on the Liv element as he delivers a black comedy with a spirit and quality far in excess of what you might expect.

    "One Night at McCools" is a black comedy charting the individual experiences of three men, who all fall in love with the same woman after meeting her at the same bar. Bartender Randy (Dillon - "There's Something About Mary", "Beautiful Girls", "To Die For") sees Jewel (Tyler - "Armageddon", "That Thing You Do", "Stealing Beauty", "Silent Fall") as the home-maker that he hasn't had since his beloved mother died, sleazy lawyer Carl (Reiser - TVs "Mad About You"), with the straight-laced spouse, becomes besotted with the sexy temptress and Detective Dehling (Goodman - "Coyote Ugly", "Big Lebowski", "Fallen") imagines her to be the re-incarnation of his deceased wife.

    Each man tells his own story seperatly, lending a unique slant to each view, before the three threads all meet up for the final showdown. Carl discusses his frustrating life and longing for adventure with his therapist (country singer, Reba McIntyre), Dehling tell Father Jimmy of the guilt he feels (Richard Jenkins - "Absolute Power", "Wolf", "Me, Myself & Irene") and Randy tells his story to Mr Burmeister (Douglas - "Traffic", "Wonder Boys", "A Perfect Murder", "The Game"), the hitman he has hired to kill Jewel, because she threw out his snow-globes.

    Zwart (known more for directing music videos and adverts) keeps things snappy and interesting, and this worthy story is never a struggle to follow. There are some nice touches, like the non-existent Noo-Yawk attitude that Dehling subconciously attributes to Randy while telling his story, and a number of other running jokes and references that always evoke a smile during the movie.

    Performance wise, Goodman and Tyler never convince while Dillon is as mediocre as ever, but Reiser and McIntyre make an entertaining double act, Jenkins delivers some hilarious "a priest shouldn't say that" moments and Michael Douglas steals the show as the bingo-playing hired gun.

    The characters are fairly shallow and any background we do get on them is only provided to ensure we don't take any of them particularly seriously. A number of the situations are utterly luidcrous. For example, after losing his job and his home, Randy gets tipped over the edge when he sees the aforementioned snow-globes thrown in the trash.

    While rarely laugh-out-loud funny, 'One Night at McCools' is consistently entertaining. It's hard to know what it is that keeps things so together - the characters are one-dimensional and the story is not edge-of the-seat-stuff. But for sheer unexpected entertainment, this ranks as one of the years best so far.
  • 3.0 Stars
    MCT:
    March 24, 2008
    Liv Tyler is hot. In this film, she portrays the most lovable yet most evil woman in the world. Some very funny scenes.
  • 2.5 Stars
    MCT:
    January 28, 2008
    A fun movie, not a great film but very entertaining! Liv looks great as a red head and each character has their charms & comedy. Recommend to see but I probably never own it...
  • 3.5 Stars
    MCT:
    September 22, 2007
    Liv is playing the beautiful femme fatale, its ok, the only funniest bit I seen is the end with the village people plot and the guy getting crushed by a bin at the end.
  • 2.5 Stars
    MCT:
    September 22, 2007
    A dark version of There's Something ABout Mary, where all the guys fancy the same girl. Except Liv uses this to her advantage to get what see wants. Good cast.
  • 2.0 Stars
    MCT:
    September 21, 2007
    Liv Tyler doing her best Jessica Rabbit impersonation stars as a vampy femme fatale who beguiles every man she meets by spontaneously turning into a photo shoot from FHM magazine, and wackiness ensues. A promising cast fail to save what is essentially a film noir spoof that unfortunately is totally lacking in wit and any measure of subtlety. What starts off as a kind of Elmore Leonard style comic drama suddenly becomes some kind of Rashomon (or Jackie Brown) homage in which the same story is told from three different perspectives, and ends up as tacky farce involving comedy bondage gear and a shoot-out to the strains of The Village People. It's heavy handed, vulgar and more than a little misogynistic, and you'd be far better served watching Grosse Point Blank or Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang instead.
  • 2.0 Stars
    MCT:
    September 18, 2007
    Only managed to watch about half of it. I just couldn't bare to watch anymore. It was pretty boring and not very entertaining. The acting was not very good either. Which is surprising as Matt Dillon and Liv Tyler are both great actors. Just a pretty bad film. Wouldn't recommending anyone watching it.
  • 3.5 Stars
    MCT:
    April 3, 2007
    OK, this is a really good underrated comedy, it's quite original i feel and definately you should watch it, may be more humorous than laugh out loud most of the time, but still good.
  • 3.0 Stars
    MCT:
    February 25, 2007
    pretty good movie where you get different people's points of view of an event. My favorite is when goodman's character remembers liv washing the car, and you just have to see it....LOL
  • 4.5 Stars
    MCT:
    February 10, 2007
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  • 2.5 Stars
    MCT:
    January 4, 2007
    Not a bad movie, lots of twists and turns in the story. You really need to be in the mood to sit through this one though.
  • 2.0 Stars
    MCT:
    November 19, 2006
    Not a bad movie. It had fun moments and some humor to it. Liked Liv Tyler in this film because she had something to do besides look pretty.
  • 4.0 Stars
    MCT:
    October 10, 2006
    Famous for THAT car-washing scene with Liv Tyler, this brilliant comedy from Howard Zwart boasts terrific performances from Michael Douglas and Paul Reiser.
  • 2.5 Stars
    MCT:
    September 21, 2006
    Strange cast, mixed with weird love triangles or is it love squares...whatever...and Michael Douglas.
  • 3.0 Stars
    MCT:
    September 19, 2006
    Liv is a sexy and sweet temptress who manipulates the men in her life in order to aquire the one thing she wants most . . . a comfortable place to call home.
  • 3.5 Stars
    MCT:
    September 2, 2006
    Matt Dillion is very cool and he shows it again here. Liv Tyler is absolutly beautiful and also delivers a fine performance. John Goodman and Michael Douglas also show up in smaller roles and they are both outstanding. It is a very very funny film with a good plot but unfortunatly starts to lose its way about half way through until it just sprials into absurdity. Still, worth a watch, definatly for Liv Tyler being sexy as hell (washing the car-hot damn!)
  • 4.0 Stars
    MCT:
    July 14, 2006
    this was fun, different, like the three different versions, never do know which one is right for sure
  • 4.5 Stars
    MCT:
    June 13, 2006
    Another of my favourite movies. Its very stange and has cool twists. Definitly enjoyable for a whacked mind. But hey I enjoyed it!
  • 2.0 Stars
    MCT:
    May 1, 2006
    A good cast are wasted in this predictable and tedious plot. Little fault comes from the performers themselves, especially not Paul Reiser, but rather the unoriginal script. However, the last 10 minutes of the film are highly enjoyable and are of a different caliber, but perhaps this is just because it contrasts the very mundane beginning.

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