Kidnapping

I had never heard of Three Way, but when I was at Hollywood Video, I noticed the film and saw that Gina Gershon was in it. I like her, so I decided to go ahead and pick up the film; so I watched it last night and I was really disappointed. First off, Gina was in the movie for barely 5 minutes, the plot had potential, but most of the actors ruined the movie for me, I mean, absolutely none of the characters were at all likable. The main character, Lew, wasn't even a cool anti-hero, he just seemed to complain too much. The film wasn't very well shot and it just seemed like it was more of a chore and a movie that most of the cast and crew just wanted to get through. I also do not mind sex in a movie, but some of the sex scenes were just plain unnecessary and didn't add anything to the supposed story.

Lew is a guy who just complains so much of how badly life is treating him, his wife has been murdered and he got rid of her body with her lover's as well, instead of going to the police. But he's moved on, has a new girlfriend, and they are both in debt. One night he over hears a couple plotting to kidnap a woman who has a rich family. The couple has been having an affair, and it turns out that the guy is kidnapping his wife and is expecting a million dollars, but Lew wants that money and has other plans in mind for them.

Three Way isn't the worst film I saw, the beginning of the film wasn't so bad, it had enough potential, but there were things that were left unexplained. Like we see Lew go onto the boat where his wife and her lover were killed, he has a gun, was he intending to kill them or scare them or what? The scene between Lew and Florence where she was trying to seduce him didn't make much sense, I know what it was, I got the scene, but the whole story of that wasn't needed. I just think that the film could've been made better, or at least had a better cast, Gina's talent was very much wasted on this stupid film.

3/10

THREE WAY is a modern-day attempt to update the classic 1940s film noir genre to a modern setting, featuring a protagonist up to his neck in murky dealings as he attempts to turn a planned kidnapping to his own advantage. The title and the inclusion of some extraneous sex scenes make this look like an attempt to plough the same furrow as WILD THINGS, but this is nowhere near as good.

Dominic Purcell's protagonist is one of the worst things about this: he's ineffective and weak throughout, and you just wish he'd man up and throw a punch here and there. None of the other cast members are particularly good, with Gina Gerson's role a limited one - she seems to be included for name value alone.

Although the convoluted plotting could have been interesting in better hands, often the writing feels lazy here and many sequences which should be suspenseful just aren't - they're boring instead. After I finished watching, I couldn't help but consider this a waste of time.

Full disclosure here...I picked up this movie because I love to look at Dominic Purcell. So charismatic is this very attractive guy that he can make smoking sexy (and he does A LOT of it during the film). Believe me, an actor must have a high degree of sexiness to make me still like him when he smokes this much. And I must give the director credit, the sex (at times gratuitous but always fun) gives equal time to all genders...the women are sexy, the men are sexy, and each really seems to enjoy the act- this must be a difficult task to pull off, at least in a mainstream movie when the sex is not real. But I don't mean to overemphasize the sex in this potboiler. It is hot (although not as hot as it could be...), but, at times, it is actually integral to the plot. I will go topic by topic in my review... Acting: pretty darned good, except Ms. Gershon. She starts out with a bang, with one overheard scene (a nice touch by the intriguing writer), but she falters in an awful scene that attempts to capitalize on the untapped possibilities of Stockholm syndrome; but top honors have to go to Joy Bryant, in a thankless role that gives her some puzzling lines to deliver, some of which are confusing (very), at least until the denouement. Ms Larter need some work (despite some interesting work in fluff like American Outlaws and the Final Destination series), and she certainly cannot deliver some hardboiled lines like those after her sexual encounter with the kinda hot Desmond Harrington which deal with the problem of secrets, namely that no one can keep them. Mr Yoakam, as always, deserves better- he smolders with an odd sexuality that rivets the watcher as long as he is on the scene; he even makes pain believable. Directing: like I said, somehow the director makes the sex interesting for people of all sexes and sexual persuasions (I especially like Purcell's tattoos), but at times some of his scenes seem forced. The stand-out is the overheard scene between Harrington and Gershon (although, oddly, Ms. Larter can't pull it off)...credit the writer for this, which brings me to... Writing: some very interesting stuff (despite the dialogue between Larter and Harrington in their car toward the beginning- but perhaps we should blame Larter). The theme of overheard plans (however well-laid they may be) may be derived from the book (I don't know), but its commonness in the film is a reason I think this writer is smarter than the material he has been given- the script sets up events in a necessary manner which is often lacking these days; how many times have you said to yourself, why is this happening? This event does not necessarily follow from the last! There is a GREAT scene toward the end between Bryant and Purcell when they don't quite understand one another that is hilarious, but it is so subtle that it may be missed. The ending: well, despite some tantalizing dialogue, the ending is not so much a surprise as a relief. Everyone gets what they deserve, and the right people end up with one another. I just wish Yoakam's character had reached a more interesting end- at least we get one last look at Purcell on the beach. Perhaps he is more appealing to gay males, but, well, give him a chance, women! Overall, if you are a little drunk on a Fri night and want some sexual titillation paired with some degree of intellectual stimulation, you could do worse than this thriller. At least it holds together and provides a great deal of pleasure, even if it won't be on any Academy voter's list.

Some truly stupid behavior (excused, in part, by every criminal in this movie being a rank amateur) hampers an otherwise passable crime movie about sloppy blackmailing, sloppy kidnapping, and not-always-sloppy plots within plots. Despite the foolish actions, the dialogue and performances are good, especially those of Dominic Purcell and Gina Gershon. Ali Larter looks fantastic, and the locations are nice even if the time-lapse scenery jumps get a little tiresome by movie's end.

Worth a look for fans of the genre, but by no means the soft-core porn flick some posts here (and the title - I wish!) suggest. Well, one scene, and no, it features neither Gershon nor Larter.

Yes, I myself, a huge Gina Gershon fan, was quite disappointed.The one reason I rented this movie was because of her and I guess she obviously had some free time or was offered a nice monetary payday. The biggest issue I had about 3 Way was the lack of concentration and focus regarding the continuity. The black pullover ski cap with the bright and very noticeable yellow smily face that was on Gina during her introduction to Dominic Purcel.(Who?) The face was visible as the hat was pulled up to her nose. The very next scene the face was gone but the ski cap was still on and pulled up to the same spot. Whether the hat was turned around or replaced, this was a very sloppy and negligent error in principle shooting and post production.