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Grown-up friendships can be tricky—especially when spouses and kids add their own levels of complexity. In The Overnight, one couple embarks on a new friendship with a fun-loving family in their neighborhood—only to realize that their new friends might have a different kind of relationship in mind.
The Overnight stars Adam Scott and Taylor Schilling as Alex and Emily, a couple of newcomers to Los Angeles who are desperate to fit in and meet new people. When their young son makes a new friend at the park—and the boy’s quirky dad, Kurt (Jason Schwartzman), invites the family over for dinner—they can’t believe their luck. In fact, they have such a wonderful time with Kurt and his wife, Charlotte (Judith Godrèche), that they agree to let their son sleep over, so they can hang out with their cool new friends. But the longer they stay, the stranger their night becomes.
The idea that opens The Overnight is definitely a clever one. Anyone who’s spent time at the neighborhood park with a child, hoping to find some kind of connection with some like-minded parents, can relate to Alex and Emily and the challenges they face in trying to make new friends. After all, parents come in all shapes, sizes, and strange obsessions—and most of us have our share of stories about run-ins with judgmental parents and playdates gone wrong. And, in the beginning, it’s that sensitive parent-to-parent dynamic that makes The Overnight outrageously hilarious.
Kurt and Charlotte are pretty much the crazy parents you’ve met at the park—just exaggerated to amusing extremes. They hold their young children to a strict vegan diet while teaching them both Spanish and French and fretting about getting them into the right preschool. And that alone could have made for an entertaining comedy.
Unfortunately, though, what starts out as a wacky comedy about strange new friends takes a drastic turn once the kids have been lulled to sleep by Kurt’s fool-proof bedtime rituals. Alex and Emily’s new friends are no longer just quirky; they’re creepy—and quite possibly dangerous. And as they begin opening up and letting loose in a way that should have any new acquaintances grabbing their child and racing home to deadbolt their doors, the film becomes highly uncomfortable. Gone is the light-hearted silliness of the beginning of the film—replaced by awkward discussions and even more awkward actions.
The stars do their best to try to keep the film entertaining. Schwartzman is pitch-perfect as the unconventional dad in the park—but once his character turns creepy, there’s no turning back. Schilling, meanwhile, is appropriately appalled—and her character’s growing shock and dismay will most likely mirror viewers’—but, at the same time, she serves as a reminder of how truly uncomfortable the story has become.
Though it starts out as a quirky comedy about making grown-up friends, The Overnight eventually transforms into something less funny and more awkward. It puts so much effort into being shocking and outrageous that it simply loses its focus—and its good-natured comic appeal.
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