A struggling actress inherits a bevy of colorful villains after desperation (with a touch of femme fatale) drives her and her gullible boyfriend to steal big from the Los Angeles underworld.

We’ve seen this story before, but this time it feels refreshed. Priscilla (Arielle Brachfeld) is busting her tail making every single audition that her so-so agent throws at her while juggling a job at a greasy-spoon diner in a platinum blonde wig and goofy outfit. The only real support she gets is from fellow waitress Rosy (Camilla Jackson), as the two work and commiserate throughout the day between rude customers and the occasional flirt session with diner customer, Benny (Azim Rizk).

One of Priscilla’s regulars at the diner is an eccentric, sweet lady named Cousins (Lin Shaye) who dreams of opening a supper club and taking Priscilla with her to greener pastures. Pipe dreams are nice, but it seems the end of her Hollywood dream is near until she overhears Cousins talking about hidden cash. Driven by the motivations of survival, Priscilla makes a decision that leads her down the darkest paths that tinsel town can offer. Stealing from the people stealing from the Los Angeles underworld can only lead to peril.

Los Angeles Overnight feels like the spawn of Mulholland Drive and The Big Lebowski directed by Robert Altman with its peculiar mix of comically eccentric characters and stark reality. The mix only works about half the time, but when it does it is magic. Much like Hollywood itself, we see a world built on artifice seething with a loopy desperation.  The film opens with sun-drenched shots of neighborhood palm trees silhouetted by piercing California sun as Priscilla’s hypnotherapist Vedor Ph.D. (Peter Bogdanovich) drones on about subconscious improvement. A fine metaphor when Priscilla can afford a trendy therapist but is begging her parents for money to cover rent.

Brachfeld is adequate as the lead in this noir tale and gives us enough pathos to empathize without it being schlocky. She is constantly upstaged, however, by the likes of Bogdonavich, Sally Kirkland, and Maria Olsen all of whom glow in their brief screen time. Another wickedly hilarious standout that works is Elsa (JamieLee Ackerman) as the effervescent auditioner with the annoying gift of relentless gab.

I really enjoyed Los Angeles Overnight despite its flaws. Guy J. Jackson‘s script is damn sharp stuff that has one foot in comedy with the other squarely grounded in gritty tragedy. It’s almost a little too much for director Michael Chrisoulakis to handle as the tonal shifts seem jarring at times. Again, nothing that brings the film to a halt, but the seams show. The story of a starving actress and hardworking waitress at a gimmicky diner who makes a bad decision and gets pulled down a dark path is a fresh take on the typical story. Somehow though, we get a clever thriller with a lot more going for it than not. This is a fun ensemble piece that works when you don’t look too closely.