I was a big fan of 2022's 'Double threat,' a hilarious if slightly imbalanced action-comedy romp also starring Danielle C. Ryan, written by CJ Walley, and directed by Shane Stanley. With the same principals attached, and a premise that portends total low-grade bluster, I've been looking forward to this from the moment I first caught wind of it. Considering that after only two scenes and seven minutes I had to pause to collect myself, things are looking up from the very beginning. I can understand why such ridiculous fare doesn't appeal to all comers, yet I can only lament that in 2023 folks still don't seem to get B-movies, for that's the only reason I can discern why 'Night Train' has seemingly been met with such poor reception.
Walley begins with reasonable foundations in his screenplay and then just twists them every which way. The dialogue fundamentally serviceable as a concept, but often ridiculous and ham-handed or over the top. Characters are formed around sound ideas - a hard-nose FBI suit, a hard-living "loose cannon" of a field officer, a struggling single mother - but taken to delightful extremes. That goes not least for protagonist Holly, who in addition to being a single mother is also a drag racer, apparently a professional racer, an expert in auto engineering, a union crew member in the film industry, and as the premise suggests, a smuggler. (This is almost as good as Cynthia Rothrock's character in 'Sworn to justice,' who is a psychic, a martial artist, and a lawyer.) And then there's the story: the second scene gives us all the most significant exposition, and while Walley gladly suggests monied interests, capitalist malfeasance, and political corruption making Holly's "side gig" profitable and necessary, he then goes as blunt and forthright as possible in asserting the nature of all the players behind the scenes. And it's utterly glorious.
So it goes on down the line, with everything about 'Night Train' being some combination of wholly overcooked, gauche, frank, unsubtle... you get the idea. This applies to instances of if not in some cases the entirety of the production design and art direction, Stanley's direction, Joel Layogan's cinematography, hair and makeup, the selected soundtrack, and not least the acting, all in addition to Walley's writing. Dan Radlauer's score is actually rather terrific all on its own, but is sometimes used in a manner that's completely overdone. Scenes (romance) or details (hair and makeup) may be perfectly fine and normal in and of themselves, but in their particular application in this feature become preposterous; some facets that are inherently glaring and questionable - the male gaze, a predominantly and dubiously white cast - are somehow more so here. Ryan is as pretty, charming, and disarming as she can be; Diora Baird plays Jackson as the most messed up, floundering, "barely able to stand" person she can; Joseph D. Reitman is just having a ball, whatever that might mean to him in the moment; Abraham Benrubi revels in his overacting; and so on, and so on. The project seems to take advantage of all the fanciest equipment it can get its paws on, the remote filming locations, and the long stretches of highway to make the end result look as slick and impressive as possible, to the point of subsequently (wittingly or not) amplifying the inauthenticity.
And still, for all this: none of it is sloppy, or accidental. All this is entirely on purpose. Sincere storytelling, some sharp dialogue, earnest performances, expert direction, solid craftsmanship, some important and admirable themes and ideas - all nevertheless reshaped or employed in a fashion that's sometimes sincerely engaging, at others cheekily funny, but consistently mostly just outrageous. And it's so wonderfully entertaining! Truthfully, the only specific problem I'm seeing here is that in sum the movie is distinctly imbalanced. Each constituent part is excellent; the issue is how 'Night Train' oscillates between laugh-worthy nonsense, and generally enjoyable nonsense; genuine barbed wit, appreciable themes, or bright commentary, and honest soul-baring emoting and character writing; straight, meaningful narrative and development thereof, and pure bluster; and, incredibly, more. For everything that this picture tries to say, do, and be, it's full of splendid ideas; if it had elected to solely be a serious take-down of corporate and political corruption, for example, or an outright comedy-thriller, it would be plainly outstanding. For the fact of rolling it all together into a single ninety-minute production, it's more than a little overloaded, and consequently disjointed. Yet all told - I also don't think it's unreasonable to suppose that this ultimately works in the title's favor. After all, the feature has already committed to absurdity, so why not take it a step further by going overboard in the most basic of ways?
What it comes down to, I think, is that this is fabulously fun and ludicrous, and the trouble is that it can't decide what kind of Ludicrous it wants to be. If it had eliminated even just one or two flavors or tones from its veritable buffet than the end product would have been tightened. Even at that, though, I'd be plainly lying if I said I didn't have a great time watching. Walley, Stanley, Ryan, and all others involved once again impress by churning out a slyly, purposefully overblown slice of silliness, and somehow giving it a beating heart of deeper value that irregularly shines through. Though it's inherently uneven and therefore flawed for all that it tries to weave in, I think this is broadly well made, and a joyful, satisfying viewing experience. I suppose in fairness that I do understand why this may not meet with equal success even among those who already go in for B-movies, but all I can say is that when all is said and done, much more than not I think this is a blast. If you enjoy films that are off the beaten path, unreservedly deliberate bunkum, and don't mind imperfections, 'Night Train' earns a hearty recommendation and a thumbs-up from me.
Walley begins with reasonable foundations in his screenplay and then just twists them every which way. The dialogue fundamentally serviceable as a concept, but often ridiculous and ham-handed or over the top. Characters are formed around sound ideas - a hard-nose FBI suit, a hard-living "loose cannon" of a field officer, a struggling single mother - but taken to delightful extremes. That goes not least for protagonist Holly, who in addition to being a single mother is also a drag racer, apparently a professional racer, an expert in auto engineering, a union crew member in the film industry, and as the premise suggests, a smuggler. (This is almost as good as Cynthia Rothrock's character in 'Sworn to justice,' who is a psychic, a martial artist, and a lawyer.) And then there's the story: the second scene gives us all the most significant exposition, and while Walley gladly suggests monied interests, capitalist malfeasance, and political corruption making Holly's "side gig" profitable and necessary, he then goes as blunt and forthright as possible in asserting the nature of all the players behind the scenes. And it's utterly glorious.
So it goes on down the line, with everything about 'Night Train' being some combination of wholly overcooked, gauche, frank, unsubtle... you get the idea. This applies to instances of if not in some cases the entirety of the production design and art direction, Stanley's direction, Joel Layogan's cinematography, hair and makeup, the selected soundtrack, and not least the acting, all in addition to Walley's writing. Dan Radlauer's score is actually rather terrific all on its own, but is sometimes used in a manner that's completely overdone. Scenes (romance) or details (hair and makeup) may be perfectly fine and normal in and of themselves, but in their particular application in this feature become preposterous; some facets that are inherently glaring and questionable - the male gaze, a predominantly and dubiously white cast - are somehow more so here. Ryan is as pretty, charming, and disarming as she can be; Diora Baird plays Jackson as the most messed up, floundering, "barely able to stand" person she can; Joseph D. Reitman is just having a ball, whatever that might mean to him in the moment; Abraham Benrubi revels in his overacting; and so on, and so on. The project seems to take advantage of all the fanciest equipment it can get its paws on, the remote filming locations, and the long stretches of highway to make the end result look as slick and impressive as possible, to the point of subsequently (wittingly or not) amplifying the inauthenticity.
And still, for all this: none of it is sloppy, or accidental. All this is entirely on purpose. Sincere storytelling, some sharp dialogue, earnest performances, expert direction, solid craftsmanship, some important and admirable themes and ideas - all nevertheless reshaped or employed in a fashion that's sometimes sincerely engaging, at others cheekily funny, but consistently mostly just outrageous. And it's so wonderfully entertaining! Truthfully, the only specific problem I'm seeing here is that in sum the movie is distinctly imbalanced. Each constituent part is excellent; the issue is how 'Night Train' oscillates between laugh-worthy nonsense, and generally enjoyable nonsense; genuine barbed wit, appreciable themes, or bright commentary, and honest soul-baring emoting and character writing; straight, meaningful narrative and development thereof, and pure bluster; and, incredibly, more. For everything that this picture tries to say, do, and be, it's full of splendid ideas; if it had elected to solely be a serious take-down of corporate and political corruption, for example, or an outright comedy-thriller, it would be plainly outstanding. For the fact of rolling it all together into a single ninety-minute production, it's more than a little overloaded, and consequently disjointed. Yet all told - I also don't think it's unreasonable to suppose that this ultimately works in the title's favor. After all, the feature has already committed to absurdity, so why not take it a step further by going overboard in the most basic of ways?
What it comes down to, I think, is that this is fabulously fun and ludicrous, and the trouble is that it can't decide what kind of Ludicrous it wants to be. If it had eliminated even just one or two flavors or tones from its veritable buffet than the end product would have been tightened. Even at that, though, I'd be plainly lying if I said I didn't have a great time watching. Walley, Stanley, Ryan, and all others involved once again impress by churning out a slyly, purposefully overblown slice of silliness, and somehow giving it a beating heart of deeper value that irregularly shines through. Though it's inherently uneven and therefore flawed for all that it tries to weave in, I think this is broadly well made, and a joyful, satisfying viewing experience. I suppose in fairness that I do understand why this may not meet with equal success even among those who already go in for B-movies, but all I can say is that when all is said and done, much more than not I think this is a blast. If you enjoy films that are off the beaten path, unreservedly deliberate bunkum, and don't mind imperfections, 'Night Train' earns a hearty recommendation and a thumbs-up from me.