Review: J.K. Simmons rolls his eyes at millennials in lightweight comedy ‘All Nighter’

It’s a clash of cultures (and generations) in the slight odd-couple comedy “All Nighter,” directed by Gavin Wiesen from a script by Seth W. Owen. The unlikely pair is the stern Mr. Gallo (J.K. Simmons), father to Ginnie (Analeigh Tipton), and Ginnie’s ex-boyfriend Martin (Emile Hirsch), a vegetarian banjo plucker.

The two couldn’t be more different, but Gallo seeks out Martin when he’s in L.A. looking for Ginnie, who has gone mysteriously missing. The two head out on what becomes an “all nighter,” while encountering every hapless friend and acquaintance Ginnie has in town.

Gallo possesses a skill set similar to Liam Neeson in “Taken,” and Martin, the son of hippies, is a slacker Angeleno still depressed over his breakup. Too often, the film mines its humor from the generational and culture gaps between the two men and leans on the extremely lazy approach of “J.K. Simmons rolling his eyes at millennials.”

Predictably, through their trials and tribulations, the pair learn to respect each other and even find a shared appreciation for Bob Seger. It’s all feather-light, low-stakes stuff where it’s about the journey not the destination, and not judging a book by its cover. It skates by on the charisma of its stars but evaporates on contact. Still, it’s got a great bluegrass cover of “Night Moves.”

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‘All Nighter’

Rating: R for language throughout, sexual material, drug content and brief nudity.

Running time: 1 hour, 26 minutes

Playing: Sundance Sunset, West Hollywood

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