Cocktails with Nick and Lana

Hideously amateurish rip off of Only Murders in the Building.

A Hollywood writer out of work for over a year and his actress wife ... also unemployed --- live in a high-rise condo. They hit upon the idea of live streaming their time in their living room (she calls it a lounge) so they can make some money. Luckily, a neighbor on their floor gets shot dead so they decide to invite each neighbor over for cocktails so they can question them about the killing. Of course each neighbor is a bizarro eccentric so each one can seem a potential killer. I never heard of any of these actors. The leading man looks about 45 but claims to be 29 .... How LA!

To add insult to injury, the film is dedicated to Nick and Nora Charles.

We were going to rent One Life with Anthony Hopkins but it was available, so I googled the next best thing which turned out to be this movie because of IMDB's score of 8.2 (which actually dropped to 8.1 by the end of this movie). My grandma could make a better and she doesn't even speak English. I will say all the actors tried their best and I hope they can find work after this movie. If it was 25 cents but paying the same amount I paid for renting Shawshank Redemption...I want my movie back. Or at least an autograph from Lana. The only highlight in this movie was the couch and whoever sat through this.

Please do not pay to watch this. Currently need to rent (Jan 2024). This is like a low budget, bad acting movie. It is incredibly slow moving and boring.

Per the description the main couple has other tenants of the building over to find clues about a murdered neighbor. Each interaction is unrealistic and over the top. Just the fact that there is not a single moment in this movie that is funny or even dramatic - not entertaining. Even at the end when they are attempting suspense, it doesn't really work. Honestly it just gets awkward and cringy.

If this was a live play - the over the top characters, narrative - basically one set - sure. But with so much content to stream and so many amazing movies, don't waste your time.

I was convinced to watch this movie by the high ratings on here. I'm not sure who the people are who found the movie to be so enthralling, because I found the movie to be totally cringe-worthy. The two main characters aren't very likeable or convincing. They are not very good actors. The movie starts out with the couple talking to the camera - or at least to webcams as they stream themselves sitting in their living room. It's awkward. I definitely don't recommend paying to view this movie - at the very least wait until the movie shows up for free on one of your streaming services. Even then, I recommend taking a pass.

The high rating reviews are highly suspect, particularly with their generic praise. Bots? Paid for? Who knows? But, it's hard to believe anyone but family and paid reviewers could express enthusiasm for this mess.

There isn't an ounce of talent within 19 miles of this mess. It seems like a project made for a Community College acting class, at best. From writing, to directing to acting, and all other aspects of this waste of time, I can't believe anyone involved would want this on their résumé.

The premise looked interesting enough to watch for free on Hoopla, but it took less than 2 minutes to get a little angry at the waste of my time. I fast-forwarded to glance at a couple other scenes, and saw and heard the same effect on film as drinking sour milk.

We can only hope that everyone involved with this mess has moved on to other career aspirations, cuz making movies ain't it.