Review by John Delia
Opening this weekend is a romantic comedy with a twist called Sleeping with Other People. The film has a big cast of notable actors and a director/writer who knows how to dish out romance from more than one perspective. The film should attract couples and females, but beware of the message as it may tantalize and titillate those seductive areas of your psyche. Nevertheless it’s a fun film and doesn’t get dull.
Its twelve years earlier and we find Jake (Jason Sudeikis) and Lainey (Alison Brie) meeting by chance in the hallway of his dorm. She’s out of control and looking for Matthew (Adam Scott) who doesn’t seem to be answering his door. The RA wants to throw her out but Jake rescues her and takes her to his room. A hot babe, Jake has no intention of letting her get away without at least knowing her real intentions for making the ruckus. Before you know it they both lose their virginity together.
Flash forward to twelve years later and we find Jake chasing Hannah (Margarita Levieva) down a crowded New York City street. It seems Hannah, his girlfriend of three months, has found out that Jake has been having sex with her best friend. Meanwhile, we find Lainey breaking up with Sam (Adam Brody), her lover for the past 6 months, because she’s been having sex with Matthew on the side. When Jake runs into Lainey coming out of a Sex Anonymous meeting, so begins a wild and wacky romance that’s on and off again till the very end.
Directed and written from a woman’s point of view, Leslye Headland moves her film along at a pretty good pace with never a dull moment. She involves her exceptional cast in a number sketches all of which revolve separately around Jake’s out of control life and Lainey’s uncontrollable sexual lifestyle. She makes her story funny, chaotic and even sensual at times. Using some very good camera techniques she delivers a nice perspective of life in the romantic fast lane with a backdrop of sets and tableaus of iconic New York City.
Jason Sudeikis as Jake and Alison Brie as Lainey make the perfect opposites. that even though they are both up for the sex, their friendship keeps getting in the way. Sudeikis turns up the charm, offhanded comments and sexual innuendos that get him into hot water most of the time, while Brie makes her Lainey a nympho who can’t seem to avoid a relationship with more than one man. It’s hard not to like both performances, as they really nail the characters in Leslye Headland’s script.
Her cast includes top recognizable actors who have proved their talent on TV and in many films. Adam Scott (TV’s “Parks and Recreation) plays Lainey’s sex magnet, Amanda Peet (A Lot Like Love) plays Jake’s new boss for whom he has a passionate eye. Adam Brody (TV’s “The O.C.) plays Lainey’s upset boyfriend Sam, Jason Mantzoukas (TV’s “The Leagueâ€) plays Xander a very impressionable guy and Jake’s best friend and partner, Natasha Lyonne (TV’s “Orange is the New Blackâ€) plays Kara a close friend and confidant to Lainey, Andrea Savage (TV’s “Episodesâ€) plays Naomi who’s married to Xander, Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice) plays Matthew’s pregnant wife Emma, and Marc Blucas (TV’s “Necessary Roughnessâ€) does a job as Lainey’s rebound boyfriend Chris.
Sleeping with Other People has been rated R by the MPAA for strong sexual content, language including sexual references, and some drug use.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A fun date film with a lot of laughs. (B)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Jason Sudeikis, Alison Brie, Adam Scott, Jason Mantzoukas, Amanda Peet, Andrea Savage, Natasha Lyonne, Katherine Waterston, Adam Brody, Marc Blucas, Margarita Levieva, Billy Eichner.
Directed and written by: Leslye Headland
Genre: Romantic Comedy
MPAA Rating: R for strong sexual content, language including sexual references, and some drug use
Running Time: 1 hr. 41 min.
Release Date: October 2, 2015
Distributed by: IFC Films