As "Long Weekend" (2021 release; 91 min.) opens, we get to know Jeremy. He is definitely down on his luck, being kicked out of his apartment by his landlord, and hence having to move in the garage of his buddy Doug, who is married with 3 little kids. Jeremy decides to go see "Being There" that is playing at the Hayworth (in LA), where he dozes off and he is awakened by the movie theater employee, a woman named Vienna. One thing leads to another, and she asks him out for a drink. She seems to be the mysterious type, with no driver's license, no cell phone, and a wad of $20 bills in her purse... At this point we are 10 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: don't confuse this movie with the same titled 1978 film by Colin Eggleston or its 2008 remake. This "Long Weekend" is a labor of love from Stephen Basilone, who stars (as Jeremy) and he also wrote the original script and produced for good measure. But does it make a decent film? The answer is... at times, but not consistently enough. First of all, the script is simply not compelling. Even when we learn the Big Reveal about one-third into the movie, nothing much changes, and it seems like the script is scraping the bottom of the barrell to round out the 90 full min. Second, this film stands or falls with how the 2 main characters, Jeremy and Vienna, relate to each other. Sadly, there is no major chemistry between Stephen Basilone and Zoe Chao (as Vienna). In particular Basilone is visibly "acting". I kept waiting for the film to take off, and ended up waiting and waiting... Please note that this film was made in 2019, and has been sitting on the shelves for 2 years.
"Long Weekend" opened in theaters this weekend, and given the dearth of new theater releases while the pandemic is still raging in this country, I decided to check it out. I really shouldn't have. The Friday late afternoon screening where I saw this at turned out to be a private screening: I was literally the only person in the theater. And the rest of the movieplex resembled a ghost town. No idea how movie theaters can operate profitably like that. If you are in the mood for a romantic comedy or are a fan of either Zoe Chao or Stephen Basilone, I'd suggest you check it out (but going in with expecetations in check), be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.
