Nicholas Clifford tackles a formidable foe in his feature debut: time loops. One More Shot is a romantic(ish) comedy about time-traveling tequila that, for better or worse, safely pads its temporal elements. Humor overrides the need to thoroughly explain science fiction details because, say it again, time-traveling tequila. Writers Gregory Erdstein and Alice Foulcher play with familiar deadbeat themes of irresponsibility and redos, but it’s not an especially emboldened screenplay. Clifford’s direction cycles through the motions of a neverending party, yet excitement and chaos are missing in action despite, one more time, time-traveling tequila.
What Is ‘One More Shot’ About?

Image via SXSW

Sucker Punch’s own Emily Browning stars as Dr. Minnie Vernon, a successful professional who’s unlucky in love. It’s New Year’s Eve, 1999, and Minnie would rather sulk on her friends’ pull-out couch than attend an intimate costume party—until she finds out her old flame Joe (Sean Keenan) is in town. Minnie perks up, squeezes into a dress, and grabs a gifted bottle of liquor from Mexico. Could this be the year she reunites with Joe, and they live happily ever after? Probably not, since Joe introduces Minnie to his new girlfriend Jenny (Aisha Dee) once they’re inside. In an act of defeat, Minnie takes a swig of what she thinks is tequila—which zaps her back to right before she enters the party.
As expected, Minnie uses her newfound superpower selfishly and frivolously. Don’t expect Hot Tub Time Machine or something wilder. One More Shot is dryly tame, from the party activities to Minnie’s failed attempts to woo Joe away from Jenny. That’s her motivation, after all. Minnie possesses a glowing bottle of magic transportation juice, and all she cares about is recreating an awkward moment from “Version 1,” where she and Joe almost kiss. Minnie fixates on recapturing the mood without remorse for Jenny and the wreck that could cause.
‘One More Shot’ Struggles With This Idea’s Tone

There’s a way to navigate the script’s level of narcissism and self-obsession, but Clifford struggles to find the right tone. One More Shot plays detrimentally grounded and expected, using Y2K as a one-note gag or underutilizing Chekov’s bathroom cocaine. It’s a re-meet-cute stuck on rewind that never shifts into top gear as we wait for Minnie’s inevitable epiphany, where clarity shows her ridiculous objective for what it is. Erdstein and Foulcher map a soapy, light-and-fluffy route to Minnie’s inward acknowledgments, which makes for a routinely vanilla rundown of standard comedic beats. She injures herself, speaks bluntly, gets pulled over, and then we’re back to try again with the same result.
The Aussie ensemble doesn’t have much to do besides repeating dialogue until the third act allows longer stretches in the same sequence. Ashley Zukerman stands out as Rodney, a wealthy surgeon in a contentious marriage who’s dressed like Ace Ventura. Aisha Dee gets to have a little fun pushing Minnie’s buttons, and Sean Keenan is either searching for his soul or perplexed by the amount Minnie drank, but the rest of the cast feels shoved to the side. Flick (Anna McGahan) and Max (Contessa Treffone) lob advice while dressed as Quentin Tarantino characters, while Rodney’s wife Pia (Pallavi Sharda) feels the pain of being the butt of a poorly timed millennium doomsday joke.
Oh, and then there’s Dr. “C-Word” (Hamish Michael). He’s the creepy single guy with parsley lodged in his teeth who can’t take a hint and keeps hitting on Minnie, which is supposed to be funny, I think? Perhaps his pretentious and lame advances will tickle others.
‘One More Shot’ Is a Cool Concept That Isn’t Executed Well Enough

Image via SXSW

One More Shot plays out with Minnie spiraling further downward with each guzzle. A police chase set to Spiderbait’s “Calypso” tries to rustle excitement, but it’s not synced with the film’s operating frequency. Browning can be delightful as a doting yet deceptive ex-girlfriend, and the story comes close to voicing meaningful messages about moving forward, not backward. Still, there’s an overall lack of enthusiasm. I kept waiting for something profound or eccentric, and while the third act does hold a nifty secret, it’s hardly a bombshell. Payoffs, consequences, and plot advancements all float through lukewarm melodrama that hardly reaches a simmer.
The synopsis for One More Shot outshines Clifford’s actual picture. It’s got solid bones and blasts of intricate time loop explanations with a stellar game plan, but Minnie’s tipsy redux adventure left me wanting more. There’s a counterbalance to everything it’s trying to accomplish. Heartfelt emotions clash with hokey executions; pedestrian setups bog down a zany concept. One More Shot is a serviceable at best debut that’s short of anything special; too repetitive and subdued for its own good.

One More Shot

Release Date

March 7, 2025

Runtime

95 Minutes

Director

Nicholas Clifford

Writers

Alice Foulcher, Gregory Erdstein

Producers

Nick Batzias, Virginia Whitwell

Pros & Cons

Emily Browning shows leading chops when allowed.
The novelty of time traveling tequila and a glowing worm is fun.
There?s a competent skillfulness behind techniques.

The tone feels wrong and shortchanges storytelling.
There?s a sense of zero consequences because of the bottle, which doesn?t help.
Its comedic ceiling is lower than expected.