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ONE NIGHT AT MCCOOL’S

What You Need To Know:

In the comedy ONE NIGHT AT MCCOOL’S, Matt Dillon plays Randy, a hotshot bartender in St. Louis. Randy sets up house with a beautiful young woman, Jewel, played by Liv Tyler, in the home Randy inherited from his mother. The materialistic Jewel gets Randy involved in a series of home burglaries after Jewel shoots and kills her old boyfriend, who tried to rob Randy’s bar. John Goodman plays the widowed cop who investigates the shooting and also falls in lust with Jewel. Finally, Paul Reiser of TV’s MAD ABOUT YOU plays Randy’s cousin, Carl, once or twice removed. Carl develops his own crush on the curvaceous Jewel, despite the fact that Carl is married with three children. Somewhat unexpectedly, everything comes to a comical, but quite bloody, climax.

In this movie, Jewel’s motivations are never really fully explained beyond her lust for material goods. One is left wondering why she just doesn’t become the trophy wife of some rich millionaire. ONE NIGHT AT MCCOOL’S also includes immoral or perverted sexual situations, some foul language and bloody, violent episodes. Finally, the movie has some outrageous, ultimately vicious attacks against Roman Catholics, Jesus Christ and Christianity

Content:

(PaPaPa, AbAbAb, HoHo, LLL, VVV, SSS, NN, A, D, MM) Pagan worldview with strong anti-Christian & anti-Roman Catholic elements where priest gets bored & snacks on Eucharist during confession of parishioner who asks God to help him be able to fornicate with young woman, plus homosexual allusions; 38 obscenities & 12 mostly mild exclamatory profanities; strong violence with blood such as woman shoots robber in head who was her accomplice, attempted rape, woman kicks potential rapist, DVD player pierces man’s skull, man hires hitman, & big shootout at the end of movie; depicted fornication, implied fellatio, cohabitation, depicted sadomasochism between married man & unmarried woman, homosexual allusions, & sexual fantasies; partial but obscured sexual nudity; alcohol use; smoking; and, robbery, stealing, breaking & entering, lying to police, police corruption, man hires hitman, lust for material goods, & sexual bribery.

More Detail:

ONE NIGHT AT MCCOOL’S is another raunchy sex comedy, but this time it’s aimed at a more adult level than recent efforts such as TOMCATS and FREDDY GOT FINGERED. The story is narrated by three men, all of whom describe their lust for one young woman named Jewel, played by Liv Tyler of ARMAGEDDON.

In the story, Matt Dillon plays Randy, a hotshot bartender in St. Louis who sets up house with Jewel in the home Randy inherited from his mother. The materialistic Jewel gets Randy involved in a series of home burglaries after Jewel shoots and kills her old boyfriend, who tried to rob Randy’s bar. John Goodman plays the cop, Detective Dehling, who investigates the shooting and also falls in lust with Jewel. Finally, Paul Reiser of TV’s MAD ABOUT YOU plays Randy’s cousin, Carl, once or twice removed. Carl develops his own crush on the curvaceous Jewel, despite the fact that Carl is married with three children.

Detective Dehling, who bares his soul to his Roman Catholic priest, finds a way to kick Randy out of his own home. This leads Randy to hire a hitman, played by Michael Douglas, to murder Jewel. Meanwhile, Carl bares his kinky soul to a psychiatrist, played by country singer turned actress Reba McIntire. Somewhat unexpectedly, everything comes to a comical, but bloody, climax.

The basic outline to ONE NIGHT AT MCCOOL’S had potential to turn into something interesting. Matt Dillon and Michael Douglas, who plays a different kind of character than usual, come off the best, but the character of Jewel, especially her motivations as described in the script, lacks development. The movie merely reveals that Jewel is incredibly materialistic and is looking for the perfect home. This doesn’t fully explain the way her attentions gravitate from Randy to the detective to Carl when things don’t go as she wants. One is left wondering why she just doesn’t leave and why she can’t just become the trophy wife of some rich millionaire. After all, the movie makes her out to be one of the most desirable women in St. Louis, if not the world.

ONE NIGHT AT MCCOOL’S also includes lots of immoral or perverted sexual situations, some foul language and bloody, violent episodes. For instance, the movie doesn’t just make Carl, the married lothario, into a sex-crazed man, he’s also got to be a man who likes sadomasochism. Instead of surprising the audience with this fact in the movie’s big climax, it telegraphs it by showing a somewhat explicit, lengthy scene between Carl and Jewel midway through the story.

The final thing that makes this movie most abhorrent are the scenes where the detective confesses to his Catholic priest. During the confession, the priest gets bored and then sexually aroused. Also, the priest snacks on the Eucharist, the Body of Christ, while dipping it in the golden chalice that holds the wine, the Blood of Christ. Meanwhile, it becomes clear during the detective’s confession that the detective has been praying to God for his lust with Jewell to be satisfied. When this finally comes to pass, he thanks God for the opportunity. Not only that, but it also becomes clear that Jewel has used her sexuality to bribe the detective about her involvement in one of the two home burglaries which she and Randy commit.

These outrageous scenes not only are a vicious attack against Roman Catholics, both clergy and church members, but also a vicious attack on Jesus Christ and Christianity. Thus, ONE NIGHT AT MCCOOL’S wears its anti-Christian bigotry on its sleeve. Just because the filmmakers attempt to milk these despicable things for humor rather than some political or religious agenda (like one of last year’s movies, THE CONTENDER), should not excuse them from responsibility.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.