At Midnight Review: A Lackluster Rom-Com
At Midnight follows Sophie and Alejandro as they begin secretly meeting at midnight, and it’s not too long before they fall in love. The film has all the right ingredients for a successful rom-com but fails to utilize them correctly.
Diego Boneta and Monica Barbaro are fantastic leads. They have some wonderful moments throughout the film, but, unfortunately, none of those moments are with each other.
They really shine when they are with their best friends, Rachel and Tachi. Whether off on their own or hanging out with Sophie and Alejandro, Rachel and Tachi are the highlights of At Midnight, delivering the majority of the film’s comedic moments.
This isn’t to say there isn’t chemistry between Sophie and Alejandro because there is. We get brief glimpses of it throughout, but it’s not enough for the leads in a rom-com.
At Midnight rushes through their romance, not giving either actor much to work with. We’re deprived of witnessing the sparks and watching them slowly fall in love.
Admittedly, I do prefer a slower burn, but Sophie and Alejandro fall in love in the blink of an eye. Then, we’ve reached the point in the film where they need to start bickering while also bringing up the briefly mentioned personal issues/aspirations they both have.
The conflict between Sophie and Alejandro, despite being rushed, makes sense. It’s the way they get back together that doesn’t quite work.
Honestly, a better ending would’ve been Sophie and Alejandro not getting back together until sometime later when she checks into his boutique hotel. She would be an even more successful actress, and Alejandro’s boutique hotel would be thriving. And then, we could see her asking to see the late-night menu.
This would’ve not rushed their personal developments or their romantic ones. Plus, as of the end of the movie, you still don’t know how the two of them are going to make it work. Sophie’s still an actress primarily based in LA, and Alejandro’s going to open his boutique hotel in Mexico.
When he first mentions the New York City hotel rotation he wants to get on, it feels like a clue as to how they would be able to stay in each other’s lives. Sophie would spend more time in New York as she films/promotes New York or Nowhere where she would have plenty of time to be with Alejandro. But none of that comes to pass, and it is a missed opportunity.
All in all, the romance leaves a lot to be desired, which is not what you want in a rom-com. If you can’t even deliver on a swoon-worthy or even cute romance, then you didn’t get the job done.
Now, we have to talk about Sophie.
On paper, she is a great character. The way we’re introduced to her makes us immediately like her and hate Adam. You want her to succeed and find someone a million times better than him.
The film tries to give Sophie some growth, but that gets sacrificed for her romance with Alejandro, and then at the end, the film scrambles to throw something together for her.
She does a self-tape with Alejandro when it would’ve been fantastic to have her face her fears and do that on her own.
We get a whole moment with her expressing her concern about not having Adam to help her, and so At Midnight swapping Adam out for Alejandro robs us of some great development for her. It’s an extremely disappointing decision. Also, as far as romantic rendezvous go, it’s not one of their best.
The thing that prompts Sophie to run back to Alejandro is a young girl saying she wants to be just like Sophie when she grows up. Why this translates to reuniting with Alejandro is unclear, but the bigger issue is that we have no idea what this young girl idolizes in Sophie.
There haven’t been any moments where we would know what the public knows about Sophie outside of her relationship with Adam and her work as Firephina.
The only thing is the interview where Sophie doesn’t put up with Adam’s bullshit, which applause worthy but not something a young girl would necessarily idolize her for.
There’s no doubt that Sophie realizing that she has an identity outside of her relationship with Adam and her work as Firephina is important for her character growth, but once again, the film tries to jump ahead to that moment without taking the time to flesh out the journey there.
When there are so many rom-coms to choose from, At Midnight fails to make its case as to why it’s worth your time. It’s a mediocre film that suffers from a variety of issues and wastes the charismatic leads’ talents.
Stray Thoughts
- Please explain to me why Sophie wouldn’t think she would get recognized/photographed in Mexico City. Isn’t she a super popular actress in a successful superhero franchise?
- Sophie inviting herself to Alejandro’s family event is beyond awkward.
- Anders Holm plays Adam perfectly.
- Tachi and Alejandro freaking out over Sophie’s text may be the funniest moment of the entire film.
- The weird internal monologue during Sophie and Alejandro’s dancing date is random and beyond awkward.
- The location is stunning though.
- Rachel prioritizing Sophie’s heart over her job is true best-friend behavior.
- I did not need that Supes jumpscare.
What did you think of this episode of At Midnight? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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At Midnight is now streaming on Paramount+.
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Allison Nichols
Allison is in a love affair with television that doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. Slightly damaged fictional characters are her weakness. She loves to spend her free time curled up with a cat and a show to binge-watch. Allison is a Tomatometer-approved critic (Rotten Tomatoes).