An Aussie comedy about a temporally tinged mid-life crisis
Minnie (Emily Browning, Sucker Punch, Legend) is stuck in a rut, she just doesn’t know it yet. Personally and soon to be temporally as well. Coming off a rough shift at the hospital where she works as an anesthetist, a random encounter with an ex and his heavily pregnant new partner, brings the stagnation of her life into sharp focus. She’s 36, single, her friends view her as unreliable, and she’s currently squatting on the sofa at her best friend Flick’s (Anna McGahan) house. Down in the dumps, she’s inclined to cancel plans to bring in the new millennium at a Y2K party hosted by their friend Rodney. (Ashley Zukerman). That is until she learns that her old flame Joe (Sean Keenan) will be there fresh from a return from working overseas. She digs out a slinky red dress and a 10 year bottle of tequila and upon arrival is hit with the sobering reality of Joe’s new girlfriend, an ensuing marriage proposal, and a collision with glass door. A dejected swing of the tequila later and Minnie finds herself back on the doorstep at the start of the night. Confusion, and a few more experimental shots of tequila, gives way to the realization of what has transpired and Minnie starts to see how she might shape the evening to get herself a better future.
When done right, the time-loop genre is the perfect device for both comedy and reflective emotional arcs. The obvious benchmark is Groundhog Day. In recent years we’ve had Palm Springs bolster the ranks with its irreverent charms, and River deliver a refreshingly sweet and quirky temporal tale. One More Shot sets itself apart by adopting a more mature temperament, a comedy for grown-ups if you will, and a plot that revolves around the personal growth of the protagonist rather than an romantic resolution.
Writers Gregory Erdstein and Alice Foulcher wisely avoid delving into answering the how or why of it all, instead focusing on the emotional journey. For Minnie, the reality check earlier in the evening is followed by a missed chance at a kiss with Joe, something than informs her “what could be?” way of thinking and her efforts to try and bend the timeline to her whims with each successive reset. Taming time and the variables within each loop obviously aint that easy, and it feels like Minnie is being put through the various stages of grief. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, all before a final level of acceptance that the only thing she can really change is herself. Yep, it’s personal growth by way of time-loops and tequila.
One More Shot is well directed by Nicholas Clifford. Snappily paced and smartly structured with the loops well used to push the plot forward, elicit a laugh, veer in a wackier direction as Minnie vents her frustrations during a loop, or deliver another bit of personal information about the rest of the group. The chemistry works well between the supporting cast, conveying a lived in vibe as well as some of the long bubbling tensions you’d expect from such a group. Browning is spot on with her portrayal of this flawed but undeniably winsome woman, which is key to what makes the film draw you in and also its message. That now and then, we all need to take a bit of time to work on ourselves.
