The afore mentioned pivotal couple is one of thirty somethings who were once summer lovers when they were twenty something. With the end of the summer, came the end of the romance due to impracticability and a dash of realism that even ended her suggestion of getting married and staying together forever and ever. Now, at present day, Alan (Brian Gleeson) plays for pints at bars and works at an airport and has since been left at the altar by another woman. Alice (Jessica Parè) suddenly shows up in his life once again and when chance gets in the way, she is forced to kindly accept his offer to have her spend the night over at his place in order to wait for a flight that will take her back home.
Therefore, our romancers have one night to rekindle and reconnect and fall in love all over again. Yes, despite the gimmick driven storyline and the inevitable outcome, the pacing of the film is very natural and makes Standby and even provides entertainment despite a script that falls weak of notable one liners and is far too timid to compete with the relationship musings of even Woody Allen's worst works on the subject. The film's real strength is that it is not just a film set in Dublin by name, but also at heart. What does this mean? It means that Dublin here is not a cinematic utopia, but the Irish capital of pints, kebabs and rain with the illusion broken for romance's sake in a John Hughes like moment where Alan convinces his band members to play skiffle at a tacky gay bar of all places (we forgive the Burke brothers for doing what every other rom com does).
Brian Gleeson somehow manages to shine even in the most forgettable of films with his plain and honest show of vulnerability and a charisma that easily lends itself to drama as well as comedy. It is a shame that aside from the excellent John Butler film The Stag (awfully titled The Bachelor Weekend in the States), the right parts have not come his way more often. But there is nothing special about the chemistry he shares with Jessica Parè, who is very pretty, but very much on auto-pilot. The one night narrative structure conceals some great ambition, but nothing surprising ever really happens. Standby is a sweet, cheery movie, but its standards are undeniably relatively low.
