What would you do if you had the power to travel back in time by way of a tequila shot?
For Minnie (Emily Browning), she would save her failing relationship. Nicholas Clifford’s One More Shot is a Groundhog Day-style romp set on the night of Y2K when an old group of med school friends get together. After seeing an ex’s new partner give birth at the hospital where she works, Minnie starts to spiral and thinks that returning to another ex, Joe (Sean Keenan), from her friend group is the key to getting her future back on track.
Getting ready for the big party, she stumbles across a bottle of tequila (or possible mezcal) with a cap that’s in the shape of the head of a little demon. She brings it thinking it will get her through the night, but fails to realize that her first sip of the liquor transports her back to moments earlier when she knocked on the door of her old friend Rodney’s (Ashley Zukerman) house. However, when midnight strikes and Joe is proposing to his new girl, Jenny (Aisha Dee), Minnie takes a gulp of tequila and suddenly she’s given the chance to do it all over again.
The setup feels a little cringe, but the script, by Alice Foulcher and Gregory Erdstein, subverts expectations just enough to continuously keep its heart. There’s a little bit of self discovery, a little bit of acceptance about the future, and a lot of exploration about what it means to be a genuinely good friend. Browning is perfectly cast – a charming, charismatic lead who’s a delight to watch. She’s the kind of actress whose warmth and compassion resonate onscreen, drawing an audience in even when her character’s choices are enough to give someone secondhand embarrassment.
What’s refreshing about One More Shot is that it really understands what it feels like to feel lost in your mid-30s. Minnie watches her friends live out her dreams before her: getting married, buying a house, settling down and having kids. In her fog, Minnie tries to grasp onto the one thing that has tripped her up every step of the way (her ex). You can think you did everything right, but circumstances can thwart you every step of the way. If the film had been one long chase to the midnight finish line for Minnie to find a way to get back with Joe, it wouldn’t have felt honest, but luckily One More Shot is not as interested in Minnie crashing out and ruining a relationship for 60 minutes before learning her lesson. It’s much more thoughtful than that.
One More Shot doesn’t break the mold, but it feels good to watch (and certainly feels better than chugging a whole bottle of tequila in one night). It’s light, funny, and sweet: a great combination for an easy breezy fun light-sci-fi pic.
Screens again Wednesday, March 12.
One More Shot
Narrative Spotlight, World Premiere
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This article appears in March 7 • 2025.