Movie Review: ‘Twas The Night’

Review by James Lindorf

Emerson students Chris Rodriguez and Grant Rosado created R&R Film Studios to help fill the gap in the entertainment industry due to the pandemic. Their first project is the Christmas-themed dark comedy “‘Twas the Night,” which premiered at the Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival. It will be available in select theaters and On Demand starting December 3rd.

Almost everything is going well for Savannah, Georgia-based couple Holly (Nicole Pringle) and Nick (David S. Perez). Their careers are going well, they just got engaged, and they are preparing their new home to have their soon-to-be in-laws over for the first time. After a video goes viral showing her verbally abusing a Santa Claus collecting money for charity, the whole town thinks Holly hates Christmas. Nick does everything to reassure her that her time as the town pariah will pass quickly, but the contrast reminders are getting to her. One day, as Holly is hanging up the decorations, she sees the Santa Claus from the video and invites him in for some hot chocolate to make amends. On his way out, Santa, whose real name is Jesús (Abel Rosario), notices Holly had trouble hanging some of the decorations and offers to help. Unfortunately, when Jesus is high up on a ladder, Nick returns home and accidentally sends him flying off and rendering him unconscious. With a possibly dead Santa on their hands, a town that already hates her, and guest minutes away, Holly convinces Nick to help her hide the body until they have time to come up with a plan. A comedy of errors follows as they try to limit overbearing parents from exploring the house alone.

“‘Twas the Night” is a great premise and a well-above-average student film overall. It does serve to fill the gap the Ro Bros identified, and sometimes timing is everything. In a “normal” year, it is unlikely that “‘Twas the Night” would have received theatrical distribution because it lacks the polish of a mainstream movie. All of the main elements, writing, directing, acting, and cinematography, are all on the same level, which is good. Unfortunately, that level is about a C.

The premise is good and ripe for comedy, but the jokes are too basic. They should be over the top to the point of being absurd enough to make us forget that Holly and Nick are potentially committing murder because she is having a tough time on Facebook. That never happens, though, and instead of thinking this situation is crazy, we are just left questioning their sanity. The directing choices were solid and consistent. It feels like it was made by one person who is a big compliment to a team.

The acting was average to poor. Part of that is the dialogue which didn’t do the cast a lot of favors. Nick and Hilly were clearly the two characters they spent the most time developing, and after that, it goes downhill quickly. The mothers are the next most well-developed characters, but there isn’t a lot of division between the two. Holly’s father is next, followed by Jesus. The worst written character who barely offers more than a piece of furniture is Nick’s dad. Almost everyone seems to be bringing energy and putting in the effort; there just aren’t enough interesting things for them to do. The cinematography is fine; the only odd choice is the coloring of scenes inside versus outside. Inside the home, everything is bright and vibrant, and outside, it is dingy and gray. It was probably an effort to make Georgia appear cold and winter-like. Still, it was unnecessary and ads little value for the extra work.

Rosado and Rodriguez should be proud of their first production. They have good ideas and a degree of talent. They should make sure the story is ready next time instead of rushing to fill a gap. A great film will be loved no matter when it comes out. A 2.5 out of 5 movie like “‘Twas the Night” may be forgotten before the holiday season ends.

Genre: Comedy, Mystery & Thriller, Other
Original Language: English
Director: Chris Rodriguez, Grant Rosado
Writer: Chris Rodriguez
Release Date: December 3rd, 2021
Runtime: 1h 23m
Distributor: Vertical Entertainment