Rom-Com Recycles Predictable, But Likeable, Trope
Jake (Jason Sudeikis) and Lainey (Alison Brie) had a fling in college and reconnect 12 years later. In the intervening years, each has acquired their own set of issues: Jake can’t seem to stay with just one woman, while Lainey has been pining for one man (Adam Scott) for years. They start by swapping dating stories, and their relationship soon blossoms into a solid friendship — but they agree that’s all it can be. It’s a familiar trope: platonic friends trying to fight falling in love, but judging from this trailer, it looks like it’s well-executed here, with a likable cast to put it all together.
Sleeping With Other People opens Oct. 9 at Kahala Theatre.
‘SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE’ TRAILER REVIEW BY METRO CREW
JAIMIE: At its core, the movie seems rather formulaic with the whole, “we’re friends and absolutely have to remain platonic or it will ruin our relationship” shtick. But I do really like Jason Sudeikis and I appreciate how Allison Brie’s character doesn’t seem to be written like the usual girl-dumped-all-the-time damsel — like how she is the one who cheated on Adam Brody and not the other way around, causing their relationship to end. Which, by the way, why would you EVER cheat on Adam Brody?
PAIGE: This movie looked very vanilla. Like, the jokes were edgy without being over the top, which therefore makes them completely inoffensive. It was almost a boring trailer for me. Where are the surprises? We can see this movie’s whole trajectory right here in these two minutes.
CHRISTINA: I absolutely want to see this. And that “we’re friends and can’t be anything else” shtick is my favorite of all the shticks.
JAIMIE: OK, why is the whole “we HAVE to be platonic friends” thing so intriguing?
I honestly can’t say, but I am a sucker for it 100 percent of the time.
CHRISTINA: I don’t know, but it is so intriguing. I will sit through the worst romantic comedies just to watch a plot like that play out. It seems to be universally appealing, too. There are so many movies and shows that follow this premise. And here it seems like these characters might be more real and fleshed out than the typical, perfect rom-com archetypes. Usually you feel like rom-com characters are just a minor realization away from falling in love. But these people have real issues and emotional baggage.
NICOLE: I don’t like movies like this. Would it happen in real life? Do sex addicts really make a complete life change because they met back up with the person who took their virginity?
JAMES: This trailer makes it seem as probable as a pair of recovering alcoholics having a meet-cute at a bar. For a pair of sex addicts hanging around each other trying to abstain, they show carefree restraint.
PAIGE: I think it would be interesting, just once, to see a movie about platonic friends staying platonic friends. Just to mix things up.
CHRISTINA: There are a couple — albeit rare — examples of what Paige is talking about. Drinking Buddies and maybe My Best Friend’s Wedding come to mind. Although a My Best Friend’s Divorce sequel seems inevitable to me.
