Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
On an ordinary night, in an ordinary part of town, a beautiful young woman walks into a bar. Her name is Jewel, and before long she is chatting to bartender Randy. The pair leave together, but he ends up getting into a tussle with her criminal boyfriend, who she then shoots dead, later persuading Randy to take the rap for her. But this isn't the end of it, as both Randy's cousin Carl and the detective assigned to the murder case also fall for Jewel's charms and find themselves caught up in the ensuing events. It seems that any man who meets Jewel falls instantly in love with her, and she's going to use this fully to her own advantage, leaving a trail of havoc in her wake. It also seems that she is going to get away with it - that is, until Randy decides to hire a hitman...
One Night at McCool's is a mildly entertaining neo-noir comedy that plays with the femme fatale archetype by showing the same events from multiple male perspectives, each hopelessly smitten with Liv Tyler's Jewel. The multi-POV structure gives it modest novelty within its genre, though the concept is executed unevenly. The plot is serviceable but never transcends its gimmick, and the tonal balance between comedy and noir is inconsistent. Acting is a mixed bag — Tyler is charming but one-note, while supporting players like Paul Reiser and John Goodman deliver competent but unremarkable work. The cinematography is functional at best, with little distinctive visual style despite the neo-noir trappings. The ending feels rushed and unsatisfying, failing to deliver a truly clever payoff for the setup it carefully constructed.