Long Weekend (2021 film)
Long Weekend is a 2021 American romantic science fiction comedy-drama film written and directed by Steve Basilone. The film stars Finn Wittrock, Zoë Chao, Damon Wayans Jr., Casey Wilson, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Jim Rash and tells the story of a down-on-his-luck struggling writer named Bart (Wittrock) who meets Vienna (Chao), an enigmatic woman who enters his life at the just the right time. The film was released in theaters on March 12, 2021. It was well-received by critics, who praised Wittrock and Chao's performances as well as the film 's "unexpected twist." Currently, the movie has grossed over $1 million in the United States. Plot. Bart is down on his luck and has to take a job at a medical office. He moves into the garage at the house of his best friend, Doug, and his wife, Rachel, and their two kids. He is broke abd depressed; his novel failed to make any money, his girlfriend broke up with him, and he’s ignoring his psychiatrist's phone calls. Bart gets drunk and falls asleep in a movie theater. He is awakened by a random girl named Vienna  telling him the movie is over. They start talking and hit it off right away, going on a date at a bar and then having sex in Vienna's motel room. Bart and Vienna soon start to connect over their mothers both having cancer, though Bart's mom had passed years ago. He was inspired to write his novel after his mom grew more concerned about her happiness in her last few months. After she died, Bart had a mental breakdown. Bart confronts Vienna about her oddities and she either changes the subject or gives vague answers, such as claiming  she works for the government. Bart's old apartment is still in the process of being sold and the new tenants are moving in, but Bart and Vienna go there to have their discussion in private. She reveals that she is from the future, working for a secret government branch that has discovered time travel in 2052. She went back in time to buy stocks that will earn enough for Vienna to pay for her mom’s cancer cure. Bart tells Doug the next day, who advises him to eventually get Vienna help, just as Doug helped Bart after his  mental breakdown. Bart and Vienna become even more attached, growing to trust each other enough to open a safe deposit box together where Vienna keeps her stocks. They spend a night together camping in the desert, only for Bart to wake up to Vienna crying by herself a mile or so away. She later reveals that staying in the past for too long messes up one's brain chemistry. As they have an at-home pasta dinner date later on, she starts moaning in pain and finds it hard to breathe. Bart gets scared and heeds Doug's advice by  taking her to the hospital for an assessment the next day. As she's about to walk to the doctor's office, Bart has a nosebleed and faints. He wakes up in a hospital bed with bandages on his head and Doug by his side, who explains to him that they found a tumor in his brain yet it was small enough to remove right away. Doug explains to Bart that the tumor affected the way his brain processed information and that Vienna was never real. Realizing that all the events that happened were not real, Bart breaks down into  tears with Doug comforting him. Having made peace with the fact that Vienna was a hallucination, Bart finally moves out of his old apartment. When he goes to withdraw cash from an ATM, he remembers he and Vienna had passed by the same one on the night they met, and it reminds him of the safe deposit box they opened together. Bart goes to check the box and he finds photos he took with Vienna in a photobooth, proving that his time with Vienna was indeed real. In the box, Vienna left him a message stating that her love for  him was real, and a little hint of future results. Bart smiles and laughs ecstatically. Production. In September 2019, Finn Wittrock, Zoë Chao, Damon Wayans Jr., Casey Wilson, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Jim Rash joined the cast of the film, with Steven Basilone directing from a screenplay he wrote in 2017. Principal photography took place for a month and wrapped on August 23, 2019. Release. In February 2021, Stage 6 Films acquired distribution rights to the film, and set it for a March 12, 2021, release. Box office. In its first weekend the film made $245,182. Reception. On review  aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 67% based on 42 reviews, with an average rating of 6.50/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "A seemingly traditional rom-com distinguished by an unexpected twist, "Long Weekend" benefits from stars who make a great screen couple." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". According to PostTrak, 55% of audience members gave the film a positive score, with 32% saying they would definitely recommend it.