The Robert Downey Jr. Film Guide: One Night Stand (1997)

Three act movie bounces between coasts and storylines about an art director who cheats on his wife and has a friend dying of AIDS.

Low. His role is small.

Charlie, the friend dying of AIDS.

Convincing and not overdone.

Listen to me, okay. Listen to me right now. I’ve seen too many people lose their courage in the last minute. I’m not sorry. I’m frightened, yes, but I’m also fascinated by what’s next.

Donovan Leitch (producer of The Last Party) has a cameo as his boyfriend

Wesley Snipes, Kyle McLachlan, Natassja Kinski, Ming Na Wen, Ione Skye, Thomas Haden Church

Wesley Snipes in US Marshals.

[When I first met Mike Figgis] I had a concealed weapon. At the bar. He was looking at me and I’ll never forget the look on his face. I was thinking, What? Is he aware of what’s going on? He asked me, “Why do you have a gun?” It was, like, sticking out of this little purse. I mean I was completely in a fantasy. I wasn’t a badass. I thought I was meeting with Figgis for the handsome male lead, because I was so debonair. In fact, he was interested in me for the role of the guy dying of AIDS. He gave me the job ... when [Mike Figgis] said, “No, I think you should play Charlie,” I was dying inside ... [I was] thin as a rail ... I saw [it] as an opportunity to really explore my dissatisfaction with life, and with being an actor ... I told Wesley I think I’m going to jail and I hoped he wouldn’t judge me.

Present day (1997), New York and Los Angeles.

Released in theaters 14 November 1997. Available on DVD in Region 1, 2 and 3.

Argentina: Pasion de Una Noche (Passion for a Night)
Brazil: Por Uma Noite Apenas (For a Night Only)
Croatia: Veza Za Jednu Noć (Connection for One Night)
Finland: Yhden yön juttu (A One Night Thing)
France: Pour une nuit (For One Night)
Hungary: Egyéjszakás kaland (One-Night Adventure)
Italy: Complice la Notte (The Night Accomplice)
Poland: Romans na Jedna noc (Romance for One Night)
Spain: Despues de Una Noche (After One Night)
Turkey: Bir gecelik ask (One Night of Love)

29% Fresh | 28 Reviews

Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle: Most of Downey’s scenes are during Charlie’s last days, but he doesn’t use this as an excuse to grandstand. He keeps his performance quiet and sweet, showing sparks of what Charlie was like before his illness. His close-ups are painful to watch, but they reinforce the intimacy of the story.

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: Not only is Charlie such a defensive pain in the neck it’s difficult to imagine him as anyone’s best friend, but making him HIV-positive feels manipulative in the worst way.

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: I did find myself caring about Charlie, the best friend with AIDS, who is played by Downey as a man determined not to go solemnly into that great night. He has a sense of humor even on his deathbed, and gets one of the movie’s best laughs just by raising his eyebrows.

1. To find out the meaning of the expression “Life is an orange.”
2. See what happens to your body when you do too much heroin.