Film Review: Seeing Other People
Seeing Other People can feel like a decent ten-minute skit stretched thin
The throes of relationship instincts, how they have done many a couple harm. And that’s exactly what Wallace Wolodarsky romantic comedy wants you to believe. Ed and Alice (played charmingly by the irrepressible Jay Mohr and Julianne Nicholson) are your average suburban couple; deep into their relationship and recently engaged, Alice becomes insecure about her lack of sexual history. Having only slept with three men prior (plus two botched attempts), she hopes her proposal of promiscuity will help resolve her own insecurities as well as reignite the passion between her and Ed. Met initially with the sort of skeptic humor only Mohr could pull off (2am conversations capped off by “This may sound irrational to you Alice, but I don’t want you sleeping with other men”) and described by her good friend as ‘the whitest thing she’s ever heard of,’ Alice and Ed finally decide that sleeping with other people would indeed, be an idea worth pursuing.
Thus letting loose a cavalcade of sitcom moments and sexual misadventure that is boosted by a well rounded supporting cast. Alice’s sister (Lauren Graham) and Ed’s Hollywood friend (Josh Charles) are all for this experiment, while Andy Richter’s down-to-earth character advocates the cause for the meaningful, monogamous relationship. Tempted by a local contractor, Alice is the first to delve into this seedy escapade. And her quick ascension into the experience throws Ed into confused reluctance. On one hand, he soon realizes this game could end extremely badly, while on the other, opportunity in the shape of Hollywood jezebels and waitresses appears too good to pass up on.
Seeing Other People’s strongest facet comes from Alice and Ed’s rather bumbling nature. Through their desire to experiment, little seems to transpire the way they had initially planned. In both cases, they soon discover that a one-night stand is only so if both parties involved recognize the engagement as one. Before they realize, they become embroiled in not only dealing with their tested relationship, but those that have come by way of this deviant game. This is where the movie falters a little, once the plot expands and the stories of both the main and supporting cast collide, there is a sense that far too many things are happening at once- diluting a little the great chemistry between Mohr and Nicholson (peaking perhaps in Korn’s Jonathan Davis making a cameo appearance- the “what the hell is that guy doing here?” moment).
Seeing Other People can feel like a decent ten-minute skit stretched thin (one-night-stand liaison #1 escapes through bedroom window as partner enters front door type); yet there is an overwhelming warmth and likeness about it. The cast is extremely likeable and the story, while punctured by a few confusing moments, is the engaging sort of material any good Thursday night comedy hopes to land. There is understated comedic raunch (Ed: “I don’t see how you putting a dildo in my ass is a true exploration of my sexuality”), sage relationship advice (Alice’s friend: “Take it from someone who has had lots of meaningless sex, you just wind up feeling spent and all fucked out”), and smart enough comedy to turn recognized relationship humor into something with a little bit of irony and wit. In the end, we are taken aback by how Alice and Ed deal with the arising problems; they are both extremely believable and the movie becomes all the more enriching. We are left with the a notion that maybe having a triple-x sex life isn’t all its cracked up to be; and that sometimes playing scrabble and doing laundry on a Saturday night with someone you love isn’t all that bad either.
DVD Features: The home edition of the movie is a pretty much run-of-the-mill fair. There are your basic additional features; deleted scenes and commentary from those behind the cameras, but the worthy inclusion is the featurette detailing the ideas of husband and wife writer/director team Wally Wolodarsky and Maya Forbes. They give a little insight behind the initial ideas of the script and how the final product came to fruition. It isn’t the most compelling DVD, but any quality movie deserves a place in your collection regardless of its accompaniment. Seeing Other People is no different.
SEEING OTHER PEOPLE
Directed by: Wallace Wolodarsky
Cast: Julianne Nicholson, Jay Mohr, Lauren Graham, Bryan Cranston, Andy Richter