One Night At McCools is one of those movies that doesn't have a lot of hype but has a decent cast whihc makes it a viable alternative when Bridget Jones is sold out for your preferred showing.

The story revolves around three men and one trashy femme fatale named Jewel Valentine (Liv Tyler). The film starts by seeing the three men each recounting their stories to somebody. Bartender Randy (Matt Dillon) tells his story to a sleazy hitman with an unmistakable quiff (Micheal Douglas). Detective Dehling (John Goodman) confesses all to a sex starved priest while Carl a lawyer (Paul Reiser) and cousin of Randy pours his mind out to a therapist. Basically these three men all become anamoured with Jewel to the point where they do things they wouldn't normally do for the sake of winning her affections. Jewel plays on this and exploits their weaknesses for her own gain with some humourous results.

The film is one of those where you can't say it's awful but it's not fantastic either. It just plays along for ninety minutes and makes harmless entertainment. One of the main problems is that it takes too long to get into the main bulk of the story with the first 30 minutes dedicated to flashbacks.

Also it promises many twists in it's tail but they never materialize leaving you a bit deflated as a result. Howevere there are some funny moments throughout. Douglas' slimy old hitman provides some mirth and the idea that he prays on younger women is kind of strange considering his real life relationship. Goodman is also solid as ever and provides a dominate if gentle presence that endears him to the audience. Dillon is the same as usual, a flawed square jawed everyday man. The real surprise however is Reiser who has a very well written role and makes the slightest line seem funny. Tyler is seductive throughout and should please the male audience with her many tight outfits and car washing seduction techniques.

This film won
't set the box office alight but definitely isn't the worst film out there at the moment. If you've seen everything else and want something that won't leave a sour taste in your mouth then this is it.