Screenwriter Roger Hedden's (Bodies Rest And Motion, Sleep With Me) directorial debut concerns one night in the lives of a group of New Yorkers who cross paths when each becomes involved with a vague plan to raise money for either a lump sum owed to a bookie or one of two fictional abortions. At the center of Hi-Life is a slightly staid bartender (Campbell Scott), a hard-drinking British barfly who takes a shine to him (Naked's Katrin Cartlidge), and the unsuccessful actor (Eric Stoltz) whose attempts to pay off a loan set the film's farcical plot into motion. Working with a strong cast that includes Peter Riegert, Moira Kelly, Charles Durning, and Daryl Hannah, Hedden generally keeps the film's numerous machinations working in an easygoing, amiable fashion. As the unlikely lovers at the center of the film, Scott and Cartlidge make an enormously likable, low-key couple, while Stoltz excels at the sort of charming-weasel role he's made a career out of playing. Hedden's script occasionally falters—is there really a need for every single film set during December to feature a scene in which somebody beats up a guy dressed in a Santa suit?—and the film's ending strains credibility. But Hi-Life is for the most part an enjoyable little trifle, and you can't help but think Hedden wasn't aiming for much more.