Review: 1-900-TONIGHT (2011)

[Mark Leeper]

1-900-TONIGHT
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)

CAPSULE: Two lonely people and the walls they build
around themselves are the subjects of this comedy-drama
written and directed by Michael Di Jiacomo. John
Turturro plays Leroy, who does not get out much when
not on his job as a bicycle courier. One night Leroy
calls a phone-sex line and is connected with Patti
(Katherine Borowitz), who is equally neurotic. Through
a series of phone calls they open up to each other and
form a tenuous bond. The acting is good but the viewer
has a hard time emotionally investing in their
relationship. Because the overwhelming majority of the
film is just phone conversation, this material almost
could have been better served by being a radio drama.
Rating: low +1 (-4 to +4) or 5/10

Leroy (a.k.a. Wooly, played by John Turturro) is a marginal human
being. He is a bicycle courier by day and at night he hides in his
room from the world. One night he calls a phone-sex line and
chooses Patti (Katherine Borowitz) as the least objectionable of
the candidate voices at the other end. Knowing little more about
Patti than that she shares his taste for fish sticks, he requests a
call from Patti. When he gets it she has no interest in phone sex,
but does go into rambling conversations. Though they do not hit it
off immediately, now that Patti has Leroy's phone number she calls
him repeatedly. The conversations do little more than give us
tragic but also perhaps whimsical views of the two people. Leroy
can draw off of Patti's emotional balance, but soon it becomes
clear that she has severe problems of her own behind the calm
facade.

We are never really sure why the two lonely people are doing what
they are doing, and getting to know them through subsequent
conversations does not help a lot. Most of what we know about the
characters is only subtly implied. In one conversation Patti
refuses to talk unless Leroy is talking. When he pauses, she
pauses. She is playing a game with Leroy that seems pointless.
Soon she gives up on this behavior--what she calls "an old
behavior"--and moves on to her next idiosyncrasy never to repeat
this one. Each is not so much a person, but a collection of
strange behaviors. Leroy is floored by what he hears coming over
the phone, but is oddly charmed by Patti and half attracted to her.
It is hard to take Patti as being more than just a set of contrived
eccentricities. Even if we do take her seriously we wonder if
Leroy really should be attracted to her. Any long-term
relationship of the two is doomed by her fighting her own personal
devils. For the film to have any charm the viewer needs to be
invested in their rapport and writer/director Michael Di Jiacomo
has not created a relationship the viewer has much interest in.

Ninety percent of the film is just the conversations on the phone
relieved with very little and usually mundane action. With little
modification this could have been done as a radio play. The story
takes a long time to develop into much and the ending in a
contrivance.

Ashleigh Brilliant drew a cartoon of a turtle saying, "I am glad I
am going slowly, because I might be going in the wrong direction."
That relationship between Patti and Leroy may develop slowly. but
they really may not be right for each other. 1-900-TONIGHT (a.k.a.
SOMEWHERE TONIGHT) is a quirky romance that is never quite
satisfying. It never really works. I rate 1-900-TONIGHT a low +1
on the -4 to +4 scale or 5/10.

Film Credits: <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1034293/combined>

What others are saying:
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/somewhere_tonight_2012/>


Mark R. Leeper
mle...@optonline.net
Copyright 2013 Mark R. Leeper