The Night We Never Met

[A] deft and delightful romantic comedy of errors. Read full review

Witty, sharp and charming, this romantic comedy is exactly what's needed when Channel 4 aren't showing repeats of Friends. All three are equally watch able, each with their own reason for renting the apartment and each very different. Read full review

The film has three amiable leads and doesn't overstay its welcome. Read full review

Low-key but smart entertainment. Its modesty is one of its biggest virtues. [30 Apr 1993]

This is a film which could gag on its own self-congratulating premise if it weren't for the sprightly tone and basic likability of Sam and Ellen. Together, they make the apartment magic. [30 Apr 1993, p.47]

Wonderfully atmospheric use of New York locations and familiar characters brings “Night” to life. Unfortunately, there are many scenes, particularly those of Anderson and his obnoxious pals, that kill time and detract from the romantic leads. Ultimately it’s not really an ensemble piece but closer to a film with alternating casts or vignettes. Read full review

A light, sweet romantic comedy and a Manhattan-without-fear setting make Night a charmer, especially for young couples falling in love. But just as falling in love demands a willing suspension of disbelief, so does this tale of revolving roommates. [3 May 1993, p.8D]

A likable but forgettable bit of fluff about mistaken identity. Read full review

The Night We Never Met takes a TV sitcom premise and expands on it with practically every cliche known to Hollywood. The result is a cutesy, unbelievable film loaded with charm, but void of substance, and which is barely saved by the likability of stars Matthew Broderick and Annabella Sciorra. [29 Apr 1993]

The Night We Never Met is never lifelike enough to evoke the madly romantic New York atmosphere it seems to be after. The actors try hard, but they are hamstrung by too many broad strokes and silly inconsistencies. Read full review

But for a film like this to succeed it must be full of humanity, overflowing with characters. This one is but they are all two-dimensional: the exhibitionist manipulative performance artist girlfriend, the insensitive and driven husband. The correct moral course is always clear, ambiguities are not entertained. In all its choices the film offers no real options. This tone piled upon the overwhelming coincidences that are supposed to drive the plot, drown whatever charm the central characters manage to generate. Read full review

People who are addicted to romantic comedies will find something to like about this movie, with its theme of fate brining two unhappy people together. More cynical viewers will point out that nothing in this film makes enough sense to warrant such a lofty interpretation. For the most part, I agree with the latter group. The Night We Never Met is best remembered as the movie we never attended. Read full review

Despite the heavy-handedness of "The Night We Never Met," you feel there's a good New York comedy in Leight's future. "The Night We Never Met," although better than "Slaves of New York," isn't quite it. [30 Apr 1993, p.52]

The Night We Never Met gets phony but it doesn't get boring, and that's not bad. [30 Apr 1993, p.C5]

A lame, overstuffed, yuppie romantic farce about a boorish Wall Streeter who sublets his rent-controlled apartment for two nights each week to two different broken souls, saving three nights for himself and his drunken pals. The strangers (Annabella Sciorra and Matthew Broderick) are drawn to each other, but a misunderstanding occurs and she has an affair with the boor. Strip away the comic material, and this might have been a touching portrait of a woman trapped in a bad marriage. [30 Apr 1993, p.C]

Unfortunately, Kevin Anderson, the former Steppenwolf actor who was so impressive re-creating his stage role in Alan Pakula's film of "Orphans" and impersonating Bobby Kennedy in "Hoffa," can do absolutely nothing with the braying, sexist yuppie who rents the apartment out to Broderick and Sciorra. [1 May 1993, p.C9]

All this has nothing to do with the movie's dragged-out and contrived plot, which unfolds predictably and much too slowly. Still, the performances are quite good, except for Jeanne Tripplehorn (Basic Instinct ) as Sam's girlfriend, an eccentric performance artist; she grates on your nerves the minute she's onscreen and grows more aggravating from there. [4 May 1993, p.E5]

Watching the filmmakers set up the situation is like watching someone build a table, one laborious hammer-blow at a time. It's not much fun to see such gifted performers as Matthew Broderick and Annabella Sciorra wrestle so valiantly with such weak material. No help comes from Kevin Anderson's overcooked acting in the obnoxious-roommate role. [30 Apr 1993, p.13]