Writer/director J. Antonio, a filmmaker from Jamaica, Queens with a cinematic vision of connecting with the disconnected, has a lot of fun with those connections in his debut feature film, the low-budget comedy Night Job, an ensemble comic piece more concerned about comic set-ups that cohesive narrative and a terrific opportunity for some familiar indie actors to get their moment to shine in this 85-minute film. 

The film, as much as it possibly can, centers around James (Jason Torres), a temp doorman in a Manhattan apartment building on his first official night on the job. From a delightfully quirky older woman (Bettina Skye) to a homeless trespasser (Brignel Camilien) to a seemingly always absent co-worker (Greg Kritikos), James quickly learns that the job he thought would be a nice and quiet endeavor quickly turns into a challenging, yet comical, one as both tenants and outsiders increasingly task the newbie with outrageous problem-solving and playing pseudo-social worker. 

Filmed mostly in black-and-white, Night Job is the kind of low-budget indie one expects to find at microcinema fests. While the film's production quality can't quite mask the film's budget limitations, especially in terms of the film's sound mix, those moviegoers who embrace lower-budgeted cinema should have no problem appreciating the film's multiple comic vignettes that don't so much tell a story as they simply make you laugh. 

Taking place over the course of one night, Night Job will likely feel familiar to anyone who has ever worked a night job, especially in a more public setting, while J. Antonio's film features the kind of improvised chemistry that brings to mind early Kevin Smith films. Night Job isn't so much an uproarious comedy as it is simply an entertaining comedy featuring entertaining, easily identifiable characters. 

For more information on Night Job, be sure to visit the film's Facebook page and watch for it at a festival near you. 

© Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic