<Review by: Sailesh Ghelani>

Directed by Max Nichols. Starring Analeigh Tipton, Miles Teller, Jessica Szohr, Scott Mescudi

Relationships nowadays aren’t what they used to be. Most of it’s sad but in the hotch-potch of it all there is a glimmer of honesty that has emerged making connections less ‘ideal’ and more ‘real’.

For the ignoramuses out there, a ‘one night stand’ is when two strangers, either online or face-to-face, decide to have meaningless (and sometimes nameless) sex together just that one time. In Two Night Stand’s opening credits we see Megan (Analeigh Tipton) filling out an online dating site’s profile she’s just made for herself. In one box she explains that she ‘talks like a mother fucker’ and in another she says ‘she’s been called a cute alien’.

Megan is reeling from a broken engagement, lack of a job or social life but her hot roommate (Jessica Szohr) convinces her that she should just get laid. So she chats up some of the boys on the dating site who’ve messaged her, ignoring the ones who say irritating things like ‘ssup’ and ‘sexxxy gal’ but settling on Alec (Miles Teller) who seems normal enough. A web chat and address later we find the two in bed the next morning as she tries to sneak out but ends up in a conversation that leads her to believe she made a mistake sleeping with Alec in the first place. But she can’t leave, because a big, bad snowstorm has engulfed New York and left them trapped with each other.

At first, Megan’s repugnance for Alec seems a bit forced and overdone. He’s not such a bad guy. One liners fly back and forth making for some interesting smirk-moments. In the background, a weatherman spouts overly-dramatic dialogue about the snowstorm, which mirrors the haze that clouds relationships when people are hiding behind so much attitude or playing games so as not to let their guard down.

Some pot and ping pong mixed with wine and dancing loosen Megan up and they both have some heartfelt conversation, which then turns to a discussion about their performances in bed the previous night. At first you wonder if the dialogue will get too risque or awkward to watch but writer Mark Hammer has kept it subtle and sexy. So Megan and Alec decide that, for the sake of science, they should indulge in round two with all of the insights and suggestions they have for each other’s betterment. If only all relationships were so frank perhaps there would be less problems, divorces and affairs.

What’s great about Two Night Stand is that the actors are both regular-looking people who are honest about not being perfect. By the end there is a small twist that sets in motion a finale that takes them out of Alec’s apartment building and turns a tad cliche. Unfortunately, no romantic film nowadays can make you believe in a ‘happily ever after’. There is no such thing. You know Megan and Alec will not have that and they may not even be together a year later (in their fictional setting, of course).

It’s a testament to today’s quick ‘relationships’, open marriages and high rates of divorce that we just can’t believe in ‘true love’ or ‘romance’ anymore. So have your one night stands, you never know, it may lead to a meaningful relationship but don’t expect it to be forever. You can always reactivate that online dating account.