‘At Midnight’ Flubs Both a Classic Rom-Com Setup and a Rising Star

Paramount is capitalizing on its Top Gun: Maverick celeb power. No, we’re not talking about rom-com alum Glen Powell. This time, the scene-stealing Monica Barbaro tries her hand at the genre in the new Paramount+ feel-good movie At Midnight. But the capitalizing goes too far in this case, in a movie about movie stars—as electric as Barbaro may be, a tired script dampens the shine of this rising star’s breakout flick.

At Midnight offers up a familiar, Notting Hill-like premise: Movie star Sophie Wilder (Barbaro) is tired of the glitz and the glamor, but especially of her co-star/boyfriend Adam Clark (Anders Holm). And she’s right to be wary of their future! Before the pair travel off to a resort in Mexico to film one of their upcoming adventure romps, but right before they depart, Sophie catches Adam making out with another girl in his trailer. Hurt (but also somewhat relieved), she cuts things off with the pompous f-boy.

The film sprinkles in some new tension between them, though, as Sophie can’t announce her break-up to the press until after the new movie hits theaters. On talk shows and in press junkets, Sophie has to compartmentalize her hatred for Adam—and, even worse, when she falls for hotel concierge hottie Alejandro (Diego Boneta), she has to sneak around with him in kitchens and private hotel suites.

Their chemistry is instant. The pair have their first encounter as Sophie prepares for a shower, having a conversation with herself in the mirror as her superhero character, when Alejandro waltzes in to drop off towels. The naked meet cute is certainly wonky, with a tinge of Something’s Gotta Give’s confrontation between Diane Keaton and home-invading Jack Nicholson, which is a promising start. But Sophie holds a grudge against Alejandro for…delivering towels at an inopportune time. It’s a rocky way to begin an enemies-to-lovers dynamic.

Sophie continues to hate Alejandro until he agrees to make her dinner after a late shoot, a skill we saw him flaunting a few scenes earlier with a one-night stand. Finally, the pair bond, and strike up a more compatible forbidden romance situation: Sophie can’t be seen flirting with someone other than Adam, and Alejandro will lose his job if he sleeps with a hotel guest. Why couldn’t we have played up this tension first, instead of having them hate each other for a total of seven minutes?

It’s not long before they’re seeing each other all the time, which becomes At Midnight’s Achilles heel. There’s no relentless yearning for each other—Alejandro and Sophie simply sneak around to kiss. They never make eye contact in public and get that dazed, lovelorn look in their eye, frustrated by the fact that their romance has been restricted by their respective harsh industries. While it’s fun to see them canoodle, and Barbaro and Boneta do have fantastic chemistry, the movie gets quite dull after they pair up and find easy solutions to their romantic dilemma.

Why Did the Studio Rom-Com Crash and Burn This Year?

So, instead of really emphasizing the forbidden aspect of the couple’s connection, At Midnight throws another wrench in their romance. Remember that one-night stand at the beginning of the film? That was actually an indication that Alejandro is emotionally unavailable. He can’t commit to a relationship. When Sophie ventures off to meet his family, he introduces her simply as a “tourist,” which infuriates her. Back to square one: enemies-to-lovers. It’s exhausting to watch these two bicker with no enthralling romantic or comedic payoff.

There are, however, some bright spots peeking through the rubble of At Midnight’s romantic wreckage. Boneta, who previously starred in last year’s Father of the Bride reboot, has all the chops to be a rom-com leading man. He’s devilishly handsome, charming, but not slick enough to be a complete playboy. Barbaro, who is sleek and perfectly charismatic, is the perfect foil. They’re set up for greatness, especially as At Midnight is well-produced and shot at a stunning beachside destination, but both come crashing down with a boring love story.

Boneta and Barbaro are bolstered by a stellar supporting cast, with exciting performances from best friends Tachi (Fernando Carsa) and Rachel (Catherine Cohen), respectively. Cohen is perhaps the best part of the film, and it’s a shame her co-stars are bungling A-, B-, and C-plots to leave her as a quirky side character with no actual life of her own. Sophie’s Marvel-esque career even becomes more important than any of the fun supporting roles. Instead of breathing life into new characters, we’re forced to watch Sophie go through an existential career crisis over whether superhero movies are worthwhile. She even whines about Martin Scorsese’s reaction to superhero films. Please, drop all this—we’re dying for more of Cohen’s hilarity!

It’s a delight when streaming-exclusive rom-coms go above and beyond to satisfy the craving for feel-good stories. Last year’s Father of the Bride remake, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and Palm Springs come to mind, all with humble stories of sweet budding romances. Even He’s All That, which has a similar “walk in on the ex cheating, fall in love with the average man” plot, is uniquely goofy enough to watch while cooking Valentine’s Day dinner. But At Midnight gets so lost in tropes and its dull lead romance that it’s not even worth putting on as background TV. Boneta and Barbaro deserve another, stronger shot at the genre.

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