My Girlfriend's Boyfriend

Wife and I picked this movie at random to watch on Valentines Day, never having heard of it. We were pleasantly surprised, in more than one way.

I wouldn't say it was perfect, it was a tad cheesy in parts. But overall it was charming, funny, and refreshingly very clean...nobody sleeping around or bad language that I can remember. And Alyssa Milano is easy on the eyes.

And the twist at the end was very creative...as surprising as anything M. Night Shyamalan ever did. My wife can usually see movie plots miles away, but was totally blindsided by this one.

It's amazing what you will find on Netflix: Watch Instant. I occasionally surf the Instant Queue section using my Xbox 360 to find some TV show I can never keep up with, a short film, or even a full length film I've heard nothing about. When I saw the title, it got my attention. When I saw Michael Landes in the cast, I pressed play. Ever since seeing Final Destination 2 in 2003 I've had a man crush on Landes. Not much has changed about his persona, or way of acting since 2003. That's a good thing.

The film, to my knowledge, was in very limited release. It had almost ZERO marketing at all, and very few critics had reviewed it. It's a damn shame too, because I wasted time seeing Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Grown Ups, when I could've been seeing this feel good, cleverly made rom-com.

Ethan (Gorman) is a stressed out, hopeless writer who after his recent publishing rejection, is now thinks of giving up writing. As he sits alone and stressed at a coffee shop he runs into a young divorced girl named Jesse (Milano). Jesse and Ethan get to talking and socializing, and it ends with Jesse giving Ethan her phone number.

Right after a happy Ethan leaves the shop, an older confident advertising executive comes in the shop and starts to socialize with Jesse as well. Jesse now finds herself in the mix of two different guys, and she is torn on which one she will pick. This is where Jesse's life begins to hit a point of confusion and stress over Mr. Right.

The best part about the film is the ending. I will not spoil anything, but it's one of the most unexpected endings I've seen in recent years. There is not a whole lot to say about My Girlfriend's Boyfriend other than that it's a very humble yet interesting film. It's got easy romantic dialog that flows nicely, as well as three young and vibrant cast members I look forward to seeing more of.

Especially Alyssa Milano as I'm eagerly awaiting the release of Hall Pass.

Starring: Alyssa Milano, Beau Bridges, Michael Landes, and Christopher Gorham. Directed by: Daryn Tufts.

"Ethan Reed" (Christopher Gorham) is a nice guy who wants to be a successful writer. Naturally, he becomes quite disappointed when the romance novel he has spent a lot of time on is turned down by his publisher because it lacks passion. So, to help relieve his frustrations and collect his thoughts he goes to a nearby coffee shop and just happens to meet an attractive woman named "Jesse Young" (Alyssa Milano) who works there and agrees to go out on a date with him. Not long afterward, however, Jesse is asked by another man by the name of "Troy Parker" (Michael Landes) to also go out with him. Finding Troy almost irresistible she quickly agrees as well. It's only while dating both men on alternate days that she finds herself caught in a serious dilemma as both men each have something unique to offer, and as time goes by her problem of deciding which one to choose and which one to drop, becomes even more difficult. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a cute romantic-comedy which had several good scenes and decent acting all around. Unfortunately, there wasn't a great deal of passion, and the differences between Ethan and Troy were overplayed a bit as well. In any case, I thought that this film was good enough for the time spent and have rated it accordingly. Average.

The best thing about the film is the title. It got me curious, then I decided to give it a try to learn what's that mean. Love triangle is something what I anticipated, but to know how good it is going to be was my eagerness. I did not know anybody from it, well, except Alyssa Milano. It was a low cost film, but production was good. The opening was decent, so expected a fine development and conclusion. Then did I disappointed with it? Well, a little!

It got me. At one point I predicted it entirely wrong. I realised that only during the final few minutes. Yep, the actors were good and so the fairly fitting ending, but for some people that might look like a grand twist. I think the writing, including dialogues and direction was better than I expected. Feels like it is an ordinary version of 'Ruby Sparks'. If you had liked that, probably you would like it as well, though it is not a fantasy.

Whatever you thought of it, the last 5-10 minutes makes you change your stance, that's how it is designed. So it is not a best romance- comedy, but a watchable one for being slightly original. I would surely give a thumbs up to you to go for it, only if you say you won't try to predict it, but try to watch it like the normal people. In my opinion, that's how it to be watched for the maximum benefit.

6/10

I went into My Girlfriend's Boyfriend expecting a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it is actually quite unique. This charming film features good acting, realistic dialogue and a clever story. In fact, part of me wanted to re-watch this movie immediately after viewing it for the first time. Well done, Mr. Tufts.