Sleeping With Other People - directed by Leslye Headland
Starring: Jason Sudeikis, Alison Brie, Jordan Carlos, Adam Brody, Jason Mantzoukas, Amanda Peet, Adam Scott, Natasha Lyonne, Margaret Odette, Andrea Savage, Marc Blucas, Billy Eichner
Running Time: 102 minutes
Rated: R16 - Profanity, very frank sexual language
Here's another movie that I knew very little about but was happy to give a go because I like the leads.
Not that I know much about one of them.
Alison Brie has done some tv - most notably "Community" which I think have seen one episode of and the excellent "Mad Men"
Apart from a scattering of movies ("Get Hard", "Scream 4",
"The Five Year Engagement") I know little else of her work.
Jason Sudeikis on the other hand has a raft of comedy roles to his name.
He is often far better than the movie as a whole so for every "We're the Millers" or "Horrible Bosses" you get a "Semi-Pro" or "Horrible Bosses 2".
But still - enough for me to consider him a draw.
It doesn't hurt that this was a free preview screening either of course.
This movie is a strange beast.
It stars an actor known for pretty low brow stuff and comes bearing an R rating for its often very frank and graphic dialogue but it is also very, very sweet and at heart- deeply romantic.
Brie plays Lainey (don't call her Elaine because it reminds her of "The Graduate".... more on this later)
Lainey meets Jake (Sudeikis) at college while trying to lose her virginity to a student with a room near his.
She winds up spending the night and having sex (for the first time) with Jake instead.
Years later they meet up at a sex addiction meeting.
This scene is what is normally called a 'meet-cute' in romantic comedies (which this movie surely is) but in this case maybe 'meet-smutty' might be a better phrase.
That frank sexual dialogue is present right from the start but it isn't ever harsh or offensive.
To be fair not a lot offends me so perhaps this is a less than compelling statement but regardless I cannot imagine anyone south of your grannie being offended by it.
It's a neat trick and difficult to pull off.
Credit to writer-director Leslye Headland and of course to Sudeikis and Brie who show considerable chemistry and an abundance of likability.
Brie is a formidably attractive woman able to pull off sweet and pretty one minute and seemingly at the flick of a switch dynamite sexy the next.
As a character Lainey needs this.
She is still obsessed with the man she failed to lose her virginity to years before and it is mystifying as to why.
Adam Scott plays Matthew with perfectly oiled and combed hair, plain but immaculate attire and a complete lack of any redeeming or exciting qualities.
As much as I enjoyed the dialogue Headland's script serves her male lead far better then her female.
Lainey has some sort of vague Daddy issue that is never really explored.
Only her Father calls her Elaine she tells Jake but in fact Matthew does too.
It is implied that Lainey has only ever had sexual relationships with Jake and Matthew.
Jake on the other hand has had a flood of sexual experience since his first time (with Lainey).
He is smooth and confident and it isn't hard to see how women would fall for his charms.
"Fletch" is my favourite comedy of all time and I have shuddered each and every time the proposed remake is discussed but I have to admit that Sudeikis shows enough of the swagger and wit that the role requires to make me think that his current status as favourite to take the role isn't actually a bad idea.
Striking a deal with Lainey to only ever be friends and to use the safety word 'mousetrap' should either start to feel like taking things further the two become platonically close.
The chemistry between Brie and Sudeikis makes this movie.
They are phenomenal together.
Jake is given a stack of character development as he tries a serious relationship, attempts dating for reasons more than sex and achieves in his personal life.
However Lainey spends most of the movie trying to resist Matthew and then Jake.
It strikes me as odd that Lainey is underwritten given that this is the work of a female writer-director.
I enjoyed watching Jake change through the movie but the same arc was not given to Lainey.
When their big moment comes it is Jake who gets the big emotional heavy lifting.
Sudeikis and Brie are superb in this scene but I found myself wishing that I knew more about Lainey.
I knew what was going on in Jakes head - not so with Lainey.
Maybe a female viewer will have the opposite experience - I kind of hope so.
As much as I wish Lainey had more to do the spark between the leads carries this movie and frequently the dialogue is terrific.
The supporting cast includes the always wonderful Amanda Peet, "The Leagues" Jason Matzoukas, Adam Brody in a great dinner breakup scene and Andrea Savage as Mantzoukas' wife.
Stay for the end credits to see some of the excellent ad-libbing between this pair.
The Graduate references are abundant and often puzzling given that they don't really lead anywhere save for a half hearted payoff that doesn't really work but too much works here to allow the one or two niggles that I had to spoil things.
I liked this movie quite a lot.
For all of its smutty talk and focus on sex at heart it is a love story and a pretty damned fine one too.
This is perfectly showcased in a scene in which Sudeikis teaches Brie how to um... enjoy herself with herself using an iced tea bottle (refer image at top right).
(It is at once as dirty as it sounds and also nowhere near as dirty... hard to explain!)
The laughs come frequently courtesy of the exemplary casting and a script that strikes just the right tone.
Slow motion is used to great comedic affect too in several scenes and the in one in which Brie gives a group of children a highly inappropriate dance lesson.
It counts as one of the finest uses of slow motion and a sports bra that exists in cinema.
RATING: 77/ 100
CONCLUSION: A very entertaining film. Sweet, funny and yet genuinely sexy this boasts a perfect cast of talented comedic actors. I enjoyed this one a lot.
Running Time: 102 minutes
Rated: R16 - Profanity, very frank sexual language
Here's another movie that I knew very little about but was happy to give a go because I like the leads.
Not that I know much about one of them.
Alison Brie has done some tv - most notably "Community" which I think have seen one episode of and the excellent "Mad Men"
Apart from a scattering of movies ("Get Hard", "Scream 4",
"The Five Year Engagement") I know little else of her work.
Jason Sudeikis on the other hand has a raft of comedy roles to his name.
He is often far better than the movie as a whole so for every "We're the Millers" or "Horrible Bosses" you get a "Semi-Pro" or "Horrible Bosses 2".
But still - enough for me to consider him a draw.
It doesn't hurt that this was a free preview screening either of course.
This movie is a strange beast.
It stars an actor known for pretty low brow stuff and comes bearing an R rating for its often very frank and graphic dialogue but it is also very, very sweet and at heart- deeply romantic.
Brie plays Lainey (don't call her Elaine because it reminds her of "The Graduate".... more on this later)
Lainey meets Jake (Sudeikis) at college while trying to lose her virginity to a student with a room near his.
She winds up spending the night and having sex (for the first time) with Jake instead.
Years later they meet up at a sex addiction meeting.
This scene is what is normally called a 'meet-cute' in romantic comedies (which this movie surely is) but in this case maybe 'meet-smutty' might be a better phrase.
That frank sexual dialogue is present right from the start but it isn't ever harsh or offensive.
To be fair not a lot offends me so perhaps this is a less than compelling statement but regardless I cannot imagine anyone south of your grannie being offended by it.
It's a neat trick and difficult to pull off.
Credit to writer-director Leslye Headland and of course to Sudeikis and Brie who show considerable chemistry and an abundance of likability.
Brie is a formidably attractive woman able to pull off sweet and pretty one minute and seemingly at the flick of a switch dynamite sexy the next.
As a character Lainey needs this.
She is still obsessed with the man she failed to lose her virginity to years before and it is mystifying as to why.
Adam Scott plays Matthew with perfectly oiled and combed hair, plain but immaculate attire and a complete lack of any redeeming or exciting qualities.
As much as I enjoyed the dialogue Headland's script serves her male lead far better then her female.
Lainey has some sort of vague Daddy issue that is never really explored.
Only her Father calls her Elaine she tells Jake but in fact Matthew does too.
It is implied that Lainey has only ever had sexual relationships with Jake and Matthew.
 |
| Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie... great chemistry |
He is smooth and confident and it isn't hard to see how women would fall for his charms.
"Fletch" is my favourite comedy of all time and I have shuddered each and every time the proposed remake is discussed but I have to admit that Sudeikis shows enough of the swagger and wit that the role requires to make me think that his current status as favourite to take the role isn't actually a bad idea.
Striking a deal with Lainey to only ever be friends and to use the safety word 'mousetrap' should either start to feel like taking things further the two become platonically close.
The chemistry between Brie and Sudeikis makes this movie.
They are phenomenal together.
Jake is given a stack of character development as he tries a serious relationship, attempts dating for reasons more than sex and achieves in his personal life.
However Lainey spends most of the movie trying to resist Matthew and then Jake.
It strikes me as odd that Lainey is underwritten given that this is the work of a female writer-director.
I enjoyed watching Jake change through the movie but the same arc was not given to Lainey.
When their big moment comes it is Jake who gets the big emotional heavy lifting.
Sudeikis and Brie are superb in this scene but I found myself wishing that I knew more about Lainey.
I knew what was going on in Jakes head - not so with Lainey.
Maybe a female viewer will have the opposite experience - I kind of hope so.
 |
| Strong support includes the brilliant Andrea Savage and Jason Mantzoukas (left with Marc Blucas) and Adam Scott |
The supporting cast includes the always wonderful Amanda Peet, "The Leagues" Jason Matzoukas, Adam Brody in a great dinner breakup scene and Andrea Savage as Mantzoukas' wife.
Stay for the end credits to see some of the excellent ad-libbing between this pair.
The Graduate references are abundant and often puzzling given that they don't really lead anywhere save for a half hearted payoff that doesn't really work but too much works here to allow the one or two niggles that I had to spoil things.
I liked this movie quite a lot.
For all of its smutty talk and focus on sex at heart it is a love story and a pretty damned fine one too.
This is perfectly showcased in a scene in which Sudeikis teaches Brie how to um... enjoy herself with herself using an iced tea bottle (refer image at top right).
(It is at once as dirty as it sounds and also nowhere near as dirty... hard to explain!)
The laughs come frequently courtesy of the exemplary casting and a script that strikes just the right tone.
Slow motion is used to great comedic affect too in several scenes and the in one in which Brie gives a group of children a highly inappropriate dance lesson.
It counts as one of the finest uses of slow motion and a sports bra that exists in cinema.
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