Critics Rating: 3 STARS*

Cast: Analeigh Tipton, Miles Teller

Direction: Max Nichols

Produced: Beau Flynn, Ruben Fleischer, Sam Englebardt

Written: Mark Hammer

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Duration: 1 Hrs 23 Mins

This one is self-explanatory enough. Cutesy lead? Check. A two night stand? Check. Witty banter? Double check. Then add another one, because despite the generic romantic tropes that follow along the lines of No Strings Attached and Friends with Benefits, this one is immensely dependent on the solid camaraderie between boy and girl.

Analeigh Tipton’s Megan is unemployed and heart-broken, which can really kill the buzz of the holiday season. Her roommate Faiza (Jessica Szohr) is sympathetic, but not necessarily supportive enough to have her hanging around the house with that aura of induced melancholy (does it help that Megan reads Lady Chatterly’s Lover alone on weeknights?).

As is evident, things are regressing on Megan’s front. “I am going backwards. I am Benjamin Button-ing!” she bursts out.

 

After being ‘sexiled’ by Faiza, Megan decides to seek some all-essential ‘booty call’ through a dating website, where, but of course, she finds Alec (Miles Teller). One half of the two night stand follows, but it is the aftermath of that where the real story begins. Trouble is… the twosome is snowed in together at Alec’s apartment, which goes against the norm of a late night ‘quick fix’ and head-on in the direction of abject embarrassment.

Their awkward silences are punctuated by frequent weather reports from Rick Raines, whose only purpose in the film is to explain how badly hit New York is by the gusting blizzard, with a segment titled Apocalypse Snow. Even though the premise could be replete with endless possibilities, the story is played straight and surprisingly enough remains charming in its simplicity.

 

It is as predictable as it is difficult to have two fairly likeable, underachieving twenty-somethings move from an equation of disgruntled quiet to a more loving romp in the sack. Make no mistake; Two Night Stand services the audience with the quintessential love story, without really being an insightful comment on dating in a detached, aloof digital age. Yet, it is cynical and endearing enough to be enjoyed at the level it was intended: at face value.

Two Night Stand is worth a watch, if only for want of a decent dialogue-driven flick and the chemistry between Tipton and Teller. Expect no more and you will not come away disappointed.