Two modern day urban cowboys face off in a duel over a beautiful woman. In a deliberately cheesy, Peckinpah-influenced spray of fake blood and exploding gunshot wounds set to the titular dreamy song by C. Ruggiero, these High Noon Lotharios turn their guns on the woman before blowing each other away. Masa Tsuyuki has created an odd little hybrid here; a short film/music video half-breed that attempts to make gun mayhem funny. That’s a tall order anytime, let alone in these troubled times where multiple shooting deaths throughout the country have repeatedly struck a raw nerve. That’s probably reading a bit much into this cheeky film, except that “Tonite” never comes across as lighthearted as it pretends to be. This is probably due in large part to the relatively somber nature of the song; a melancholy affair that works against the jocular but brutal ballet on screen. Not quite comical, not quite serious, “Tonite” is a quirky but flawed film that ultimately gets cut down in its own crossfire.
