Film ReviewsSleeping With Other People:
Nov 26, 2015 Anchorage Press
|
|
Sleeping With Other People is a Gen X rehashing of When Harry Met Sally but with a lot more baggage and higher incidences of STDs. Sleeping With Other People is a romantic comedy directed by Leslye Headland and produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay along with a half-dozen other folks. It's curious that Ferrel and McKay have billing just under the title of the movie, perhaps this is not just to legitimize the film but to let viewers know that they should think of Sleeping With Other People as a funny and smart film even if it struggles to meet expectations. The movie stars Alison Brie as Lainey (or Elaine) and Jason Sudeikis as Jake, star-crossed lovers in the age of Facebook. Lainey and Jake meet at Columbia and lose their virginity to one another one night, fast forward 12 years and they meet again in a sex-addiction support group session. This in a nutshell recaps their individual and promiscuous time apart. And, just like in When Harry Met Sally, Lainey and Jake become best friends, supporting one another through romantic and sexual obsessions, and ill-fitting relationships. Sleeping With Other People is so formulaic and predictable that viewers know from the get-go that Lainey and Jake will, of course, fall deeply, madly in love and their star-crossed paths will yield to the Hollywood/Disney ending everyone's come to expect from these types of star-studded, bank-rolled, shallow films.
The premise of Sleeping With Other People suggests the two protagonists are somehow warped and misguided human beings who are incapable of being faithful and therefore hurt others along the way. This is also arguably known as the 20s for many people. The problem with Headland's presentation of the promiscuous dynamic is that it reinforces stereotypes, lauding Jake's character as a player, and slut-shaming Lainey for being obsessed with-and acquiescent to-a singular, old flame. Adding insult to injury, Jake tutors Lainey on the right way for a woman to masturbate really? It's enough to solicit an ARTBAL! shout out from some viewers (Another Reason To Be A Lesbian).
Sudeikis continues to make his way from Saturday Night Live to movies and other TV genres, he plays off the more experienced cast, especially Brie. Sleeping With Other People has a strong supporting cast (just like When Harry Met Sally). Natasha Lyonne plays Kara, Lainey's best friend and advisor. Lyonne steals the scenes, she's just that strong of an actor, so it's a shame that her role is minimal and infrequent. Lyonne evens delivers a line about how men and women can't be friends in a way that sounds unique, and not because again, to beat a dead horse, it's key in the gender-sex conversation between Harry and Sally. It's a shame that Sleeping With Other People relies on name-dropping other movies, music, and cultural references to keep the audience engaged. It's hard to know whether Headland employs this gimmick to prove the relevancy of the film to particular generation of viewers, to prove that she knows what she's writing about, or to seem as smart as her producers.
Romantic comedies are a dime a dozen, and there are some pretty good ones out there. Sleeping With Other People, while it has some entertaining elements, is not one of them. If viewers are in the mood for a romantic movie that is also satisfying on other levels, here are a few for consideration, The Philadelphia Story, City Lights, Harold and Maude, Annie Hall, The Princess Bride, Pretty Woman, The Wedding Singer, or how about, When Harry Met Sally?
Sleeping With Other People shows at Beartooth on Mon. Nov. 30 at 8:10 p.m.
The premise of Sleeping With Other People suggests the two protagonists are somehow warped and misguided human beings who are incapable of being faithful and therefore hurt others along the way. This is also arguably known as the 20s for many people. The problem with Headland's presentation of the promiscuous dynamic is that it reinforces stereotypes, lauding Jake's character as a player, and slut-shaming Lainey for being obsessed with-and acquiescent to-a singular, old flame. Adding insult to injury, Jake tutors Lainey on the right way for a woman to masturbate really? It's enough to solicit an ARTBAL! shout out from some viewers (Another Reason To Be A Lesbian).
Sudeikis continues to make his way from Saturday Night Live to movies and other TV genres, he plays off the more experienced cast, especially Brie. Sleeping With Other People has a strong supporting cast (just like When Harry Met Sally). Natasha Lyonne plays Kara, Lainey's best friend and advisor. Lyonne steals the scenes, she's just that strong of an actor, so it's a shame that her role is minimal and infrequent. Lyonne evens delivers a line about how men and women can't be friends in a way that sounds unique, and not because again, to beat a dead horse, it's key in the gender-sex conversation between Harry and Sally. It's a shame that Sleeping With Other People relies on name-dropping other movies, music, and cultural references to keep the audience engaged. It's hard to know whether Headland employs this gimmick to prove the relevancy of the film to particular generation of viewers, to prove that she knows what she's writing about, or to seem as smart as her producers.
Romantic comedies are a dime a dozen, and there are some pretty good ones out there. Sleeping With Other People, while it has some entertaining elements, is not one of them. If viewers are in the mood for a romantic movie that is also satisfying on other levels, here are a few for consideration, The Philadelphia Story, City Lights, Harold and Maude, Annie Hall, The Princess Bride, Pretty Woman, The Wedding Singer, or how about, When Harry Met Sally?
Sleeping With Other People shows at Beartooth on Mon. Nov. 30 at 8:10 p.m.