The Night We Never Met

Stars: Matthew Broderick (Out on a Limb, WarGames, Ladyhawke), Annabella Sciorra (Whispers in the Dark, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle), Kevin Anderson (Rising Sun, Sleeping With the Enemy), Jeanne Tripplehorn (The Firm, Basic Instinct). Garnering chump change at the boxoffice, this markedly unfunny comedy starts out with an interesting premise. Yuppie scum Brian McVeigh (Kevin Anderson) decides to time-share his Greenwich Village apartment so that he can have a couple nights a week to watch football, guzzle beer, throw chips all over the place, and make strange grunting noises with his friends--while spending the other five nights in his rich princess fiancée's house. One of the renters Matthew Broderick--who hams his way through some excruciatingly boring stock scenes--as disgruntled deli worker Sam Lester (in one sequence the lovelorn Sam brings a stereotypical Swedish blonde up to the apartment for uninspired hijinks). The other renter is Ellen Holder (Annabella Sciorra), a married dental hygienist-cum-artist who paints and daydreams about having an affair. For most of the film, the trio never meet--although they see the signs of the others lying around the apartment. Then Ellen decides to have that affair in order to kickstart the plot... The highlight of the film is Garry Shandling's cameo as a dental patient. The Apartment handled this concept much better. Audience: Some Matthew Broderick fans--demented souls though they may be--will want to see this, as might the truly non-discerning romance fan who doesn't really give a hoot about ethics.