Seeing Other People

"Seeing Other People" is very similar to the British original series "Coupling" so it's nice to know that American sit com writers can be guffawingly funny about sex and relationships when freed from the networks.

While it's male/female co-written, by Maya Forbes and director Wallace Wolodarsky, the premise feels like a male fantasy gender-switch of wanting both free love and the laundry done, though both guys and gals do end up getting their comeuppance.

Jay Mohr, as a mensch for a change, and Julianne Nicholson, who was captivating in the drama "Tully," considerably humanize the coincidental goings on through their sincerity.

Lauren Graham and Josh Charles enjoy being deliciously nastier sidekicks than their respective "Gilmore Girls" and "Sports Night" personas. Andy Richter does a surprisingly grown-up turn as the most grounded of the group on the sexual merry-go-round.

It may have been shot on video and blown up to 35 mm as the print was a bit fuzzy. The font on the credits was the largest I've ever seen in a film so I could see that the director and Liz Phair had a cameo, though I think we only saw her legs, and that several sit com directors and producers were thanked. The excellent songs and music were not identified, however.

I rented this movie without having heard (or read) anything about it. What a shame! This movie is intelligent, witty, hilarious, fast-paced, and realistically ridiculous. The characters manage to get developed without relying too heavily on clichéd, tired stereotypes. It was refreshing to watch. I couldn't help thinking that marketing would have helped lob this not-so-mainstream movie into the starved-for-intelligent-comedy mainstream. The quality of the dialogue and the ease with which the actors execute a huge range of awkwardness, heartbreak and comedy is so rare these days--I felt that the actors must have really enjoyed participating in something this rich. How is it that National Treasure was number one at the box office for three weeks in a row--it is so weak in too many ways to mention. I guess I'm just happy that movies like "Seeing.." are still being made somewhere out there.

Alice (Julianne Nicholson) and Ed (Jay Mohr) are in love, live together, and are going to be married. The timid Alice realizes that she hasn't really slept with many men and regrets that. She suggests to Ed that they have sex with other people before getting married. He doesn't want to, but she insists that if they are both completely honest, it could work. He reluctantly agrees.

This movie works for the first half. It is funny, clever, and well-acted. Unfortunately, making a movie about polyamory that has something interesting and unique to say is really difficult. This storyline becomes less and less serious halfway through. The comedy turns screwball and is pretty ridiculous. We also see glimpses of side-character relationships (including two dishonest cheating friends, as well as a single friend dating a single mom) that ostensibly serve to compare and contrast with the lead relationship, but none of these stories go anywhere far enough to accomplish this. This movie's saving grace is its solid B-list ensemble cast including Josh Charles, Lauren Graham, Helen Slater, Jill Ritchie, and Andy Richter. On a sidenote, I watched this movie because rock goddess Liz Phair is in it. She has one pointless scene and you can't even tell its her. Sigh!

This indie film is worth a look because of the enormous talent of its creators, Wallace Wolodarsky and Marsha Forbes. Mr. Wolodarsky has directed the young cast, and he is to be praised for this effort.

The premise of the film is a cautionary tale of the danger for wanting something one can't have. Which is the story of Alice and Ed. After living together for a while, Alice suddenly gets restless because she imagines she's lacking experience in the sex area. Alice and Ed's relationship, while not an example of ideal happiness, is a comfortable way to share their lives with one another. That is, until the moment Alice and Claire, her sister, happened to bump into a sexual encounter by another couple that has no clue of being observed.

This incident makes Alice reevaluate her own sexual life with Ed; she finds it lacks substance. When she proposes 'seeing other people', Ed is shocked, to put it mildly, but not wanting to contradict Alice, he decides to go along. What happens next is that both Alice and Ed enter into a world that's been unknown to them. The people they meet, in the end, are not worth the trouble. They sadly realize at the end, they were made for each other.

The film is worth watching in order to see the amazing Julianne Nicholson, who we happen to have liked in another indie film, "Tully". Ms. Nicholson reminds us of a young Shirley McLaine; she projects such a luminous quality about her, that is hard to take one's eyes from her whenever she is in a scene. This young actress proves she is an accomplished performer who gets better with each new appearance. Basically, she carries the movie. Her Alice is a study in contrasts. Alice is a decent woman who thinks she is inadequate in pleasing Ed because of her inexperience.

Jay Mohr, is an excellent match for Ms. Nicholson. Both do wonders together. His Ed is perfectly credible. We have known people like him. Deep down inside, he is a good person, who suddenly gets himself in a situation he didn't call for, yet, he goes along only to discover he is too decent and not cut out for a life of gratuitous sex with the willing women that have no problem with a tumble in the hay, just for fun.

The rest of the cast is wonderful. Lauren Graham does some amazing work as Claire, Alice's yuppie sister. Andy Ritcher is also wonderful as the grounded Carl, the nerdy friend who finally finds out fulfillment when he meets Penelope, a single mother. As Penelope, Helen Slater, makes a felicitous, albeit of a short, appearance in the film.

The director is enormously gifted, who will no doubt go places because he shows he is well suited for the job.

"Seeing Other People" is all about DINKs Alice (Nicholson) and Ed (Mohr) who have lived together for years and decide to try other sex partners before tying the knot. This obviously contrived premise yields an abundance of the same old relationship problems we've all seen before a zillion times giving the film the familiarity of old news as opposed to old friends. On the downside, this conversational flick uses a plethora of stereotypical side characters and plenty of not-so-subtle sex talk for filler while Ed and Alice are clumsily making their last ditch effort to get some "strange". On the upside, the writing is sufficiently insightful and fresh to create enough moments of humor and fun to make for a worthwhile small screen watch. With average marks from critics and public, "SOP" will play best with younger adult females. Keep expectations real. (B-)