18 Minutes in Albuquerque

Jonathon Daye is on a coach that is going through Albuquerque. With a 20-minute stopover, John gets out to make a telephone call when he is approached by a prostitute, Anne, and offered 'a good time'. He reluctantly agrees to do so and they set off to find a quiet place somewhere in the bus station. However they struggle to find a place that is quiet and that is a acceptable to Jonathon as a place to have sex. The delay in getting started means that they have time to talk as they look for a spot.

This film opens with the same dreaded air that many of the films in this short film series do – a sort of funny/kooky score and the same visual feel – and I must admit to being worried because I tend to struggle with the ones that just fit the studio mould. However, and I'm not sure why, I did enjoy this film more than it probably deserved to be enjoyed. The basic story sees a woman and her john (literally) trying to find a place to 'do business' and, while they look, we see John gradually gain confidence and relax a bit simply from some aspects of her character. As a plot it isn't that convincing and it is hard to really believe that John would change so much because of this one encounter or that he would be able to change his feelings in such a short time. The problem is that the writing isn't as strong as it needed to be in order to support this premise and too much of the film is spend going to places and then having them go wrong as opposed to seeing John's soul being searched.

However, I still liked it and it is probably due to the freewheeling and quite relaxed nature of the film that I did. It has a nice atmosphere and tone to it that works here and it was easy to just watch even if I didn't get involved at all. The cast helps this, in particular a quite nice little performance from Bowe who does well with quite an easy character. Wilhoite plays the standard 'hooker with heart of gold' and doesn't mange to make it her own even if she comes across charming and likable – a bonus to the audience but a detriment to her character. Support from McGee adds familiarity but nothing more.

Overall this is not a very good film; the writing could have been a lot better and it would have produced a much more enjoyable film. As it is, it is a rather simple look at a shy, non-confrontational man who learns a life lesson during his 18 minutes in Albuquerque. It is not without charm and it is easy to watch and is probably worth seeing once if the chance presents itself.