Life Partners

If it weren't for the biphobia in the film (the one bi/sexually fluid character is portrayed as unstable and "not gay enough" to be with), I probably would've given it a six or seven. This is far too common in media, and the stereotype is damaging.

As it was the film did portray well some of the issues of growing up and how it affects one's friendships.

I did relate to some of the issues the women went through.

It doesn't really reach very deeply though, and the ending is rather lackluster.

There was some good humor in the film, but the writing really needed polishing.

It was nice to see a mainstream film portray a non-straight main character.

Gabourey Sidibe was sorely underused as a minor supporting character.

Life Partners (2014) was directed by Susanna Fogel. Sasha--Leighton Meester--is best friends with Paige--Gillian Jacobs. Sasha is a lesbian, and Paige is straight. Neither of them has a problem with this--there's no romantic interest, but lots of love.

Enter Tim--Adam Brody--who falls in love with Paige. (There's a movie in-joke here, because in real life, Brody is married to Meester.). Tim and Paige are engaged, and living together. The movie takes a strange turn at this point, when Paige backs into a neighbor's car. She refuses to take responsibility, which bothers Tim. This theme apparently was required to fill out a 95-minute movie. The whole business was trivial.

The real theme, in my opinion, was the inevitable break between Sasha and Paige. The theme of female friendship being broken when men become involved is old--think of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. It may be old, but it still resonates. I think that's what this movie really was about. It's certainly a theme worth exploring.

We saw this film at the Dryden Theatre as part of the well-chosen offerings of ImageOut, the Rochester LGBT Film Festival. It will work well on DVD.

Paige and Sasha are not-quite-thirty best friends, sleep in the same bed comparing boob bumps BFFs - and things are about to get disrupted in Life Partners.

Life Partners is an easy enough film to watch and pretty straightforward – but it is not: for older people or most of the male audience.

Paige and Sasha, Gillian Jacobs and Leighton Meester respectively, are pretty basic as personality types – they like brunch and America's Next Top Model. Paige is a lawyer who is practically allergic to admitting she is wrong. Sasha is an underachieving lesbian. The friendship they have is sickening and just short of Mama-bird feeding tactics. When Paige goes on a date and seemingly meets a potential life partner, the friend dynamic shift causes major upheaval to Sasha and the longevity of their love.

That description is pretty sarcastic, I will admit, but there is not much to Life Partners that warrants describing. The characters are simple, the plot is simple and the conflict and ultimate resolution are simple as well. Simple does not have to mean 'bad' though – and Life Partners is a rather fun film that definitely falls in the Chick Flick category. Not surprisingly, it is directed by a female (Susanna Fogel) and there is a nice melody of female comedians and actresses in this female driven film.

Millennials will agree with the co-dependent friend dynamic in Life Partners, but in being so niched out to late twenty-something females, it loses out by not reaching to a broader audience.

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Sasha (Leighton Meester) is gay and best friends with straight Paige (Gillian Jacobs). Their best friends are Jen (Gabourey Sidibe) and Jenn (Beth Dover). They are inseparable until Paige meets Tim (Adam Brody). Paige is an environmental lawyer. Tim keeps quoting movies. Sasha is a musician in a dead-end job who doesn't play music. Paige accepts Tim's marriage proposal. Sasha keeps dating immature girls like Vanessa (Abby Elliott) and Mia (Greer Grammar).

The first half is sweet and a bit of quirky. It's mildly humorous. It's two best friends growing apart as their lives change. The second half is a slightly better. The humor has a little bite. There is some personal drama but it never truly gets too dramatic. Both Meester and Jacobs have endearing qualities. Overall, it's a light, sweet and mildly funny life stories of late twenty-somethings.

The comedy was spot on, and the romance was not overused as many Rom- Com have become lately, brought on the surface the lesbians part of romance yet not too much involved which was really great producing, the casting was also successful, characters we'v seen on TV and some in a few movies and still managed to look fresh and new even for Gillian Jacobs and Gabourey Sidibe. i would'v make it more twisty and knot the plot a little more but the story still got out great the way it is. and as i said it was Good story, peaked and grow properly and it nicely ended . so bravo for the cast and Susanna Fogel for a good directing and writing ;)