Raise your hand if you have ever had a “the one that got away” moment. I would guess that about 50 percent of people reading this review have had that feeling one way or another. Nicholas Clifford’s “One More Shot”s comedic drama offers a way back to (potentially) undo past regrets not by songs (“The Greatest Hits”) or souped up car (“Back To The Future”), but an aged bottle of tequila. Many of these films follow a couple of paths to a character’s epiphanies. You either learn the error of your ways and try to change for the better (a la “A Christmas Carol) or realize you’re on a defined path and moving things out of sorts will ripple in time that can’t be undone. The human need for nostalgia is why many of these stories get made. Clifford’s film ends up at a conclusion you’d expect while trying to offer a little more among those details.
It’s New Year’s Eve in 1999, and Minnie (Emily Browning) is not looking forward to ringing in the new year. She’s still mulling over a breakup years later and is on the cusp of getting kicked out of her friend’s house where she’s been staying. Nevertheless, she’s offered to go to a party where her ex-boyfriend Joe (Sean Keenan) will also be in attendance. A new year could be a new start, which may be a sign that Minnie will get another chance to reignite a flame. But there’s one issue: Joe has a new girlfriend named Jenny (Aisha Dee), whom he met during his move to New York. Jenny’s sudden appearance gets in the way of Minnie’s ultimate plan, and the group also takes a liking to her.
One More Shot / Photo Credit: Ben King
There’s an unbeknownst element that writers Alice Foulcher and Gregory Ernstein introduce in “One More Shot” in the form of Minnie’s tequila bottle. Every time she takes a swig, it transports her back to the beginning of the night in a “Groundhog’s Day” like fashion. There’s a sequential order to events she starts to pick up on that she could alter to claim the heart of Joe once more. Given the story’s heart, the film has its heart in the right places. There’s something to be said when you reach adulthood, and it feels like your entire group of friends has passed you by in certain relationship hallmarks. Going to a New Year’s Eve party as a loner while everybody has a personal celebration with their certain someone is lonely. In that regard, Browning wears multiple emotions on her sleeve well – Minnie is jealous, sad, content, and determined all in one 90 plus minute film. A side story also becomes attached to Minnie’s central plight as it concerns her married friends Rodney (Ashley Zukerman) and Pia (Pallavi Sharda). Not to give too much away, but how their story is intertwined within “One More Shot” is refreshing as it shows what someone would do if they obtained what Minnie is seeking. The film has more on its mind, but introduces those complexities late in the game. There’s a pull to wrap up the main story thread at that point.
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The film also takes place during a specific period when Y2K fears were noticeably rampant, and Clifford slips that in. “One More Shot” ‘s time-traveling mechanisms aren’t as precise as hoped—especially considering how neat the film ends with how characters land. You witness Minnie get trapped in a loop, which has some physical implications for her. However, no further notes exist on how this may affect the group. Is anybody else off-kilter because of these travels? Do they remember anything that Minnie potentially changed? It’s unclear how everything works within the totality of life-altering choices.
With stories like “One Last Shot,” unless they seek to deviate from the script, you can see where everything is going. Then, the gimmick feels like it’s only there to stall before the inevitable realization happens. This is not to say this film isn’t enjoyable. The cast comes together to make the party atmosphere alive and their fears (whether individual or collective) real. You’ll start to wonder, with this great power, is there room for improvisation regarding the life lessons we learn?
One More Shot premiered at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival.
