The Freebie

Sometimes, or is it all the time, it seems like the people in charge of selling a movie are working directly in opposition to the original intents and artistic dreams of the actual creative people who make movies. I know that it's the job of distributors to get people to watch a movie they're putting out, I guess by any means necessary. But if they create an ad campaign, a movie poster, or DVD box art which is deliberately misleading as to the actual content of the movie, isn't that just going to either tick or turn people off? Seriously, if you create a sexy, silly cover for an ambitious, serious film, either you're going to a.)disappoint the people attracted to such a cover when they don't get what they were looking for or b.)keep people who would actually like such a film from ever renting it, or c.) both. For example, this film. I didn't watch it, and had no real interest in watching it, essentially based on the cover art and title. (I mean, sure, I was not exactly jazzed to check out the newest Dax Shepard vehicle either, but more on that later...) The title, the tagline, and the cutesy cover with stars Shepard and Katie Aselton all wrapped up in a blanket and giving us a comically-cute 'oops!' look makes it look like a lowbrow, cheesy romantic comedy, and the premise (unhappy couple decides to give each other the titular 'freebie' one-night stand with someone else apiece) is the stuff of lousy guy comedies (see last year's Hall Pass, etc.) But, since I had an undeniably-too-cool-not-to-tell reason to actually watch the thing (I got to interview star/director/writer Aselton) and I have to say The Freebie is really, really good. In addition to starring in this (and the very funny series 'The League'), Aselton is married to indie filmmaker (and co-father of the so-called 'mumblecore' movement) Mark Duplass, and in this, her directorial debut, she shows a real affinity for that genre's improvisational, conversational and emotionally-raw style, and creates a smart, legitimately moving examination of one couple's misguided attempt to sort out their relationship. Shepard and Aselton play Darren and Annie, a genuinely-happy, compulsively-honest couple who admit, one night, that their sex life has become routine. And so the 'one-night stand' plan. What's truly impressive is how organically the premise gets introduced; the two actors so ably create a very specifically-believable couple that you go along with their reasoning, even though you are pretty sure they're making a terrible mistake. That's a credit to the two actors, in more ways than one. I noticed that there are no writing credits listed for The Freebie on IMDb, and none in the movie itself, and Aselton confirmed to me on the phone (that's the last time I name drop, I promise), that, while she wrote her film's outline, the entire thing was improvised. And, while Aselton's background in the mumblecore genre, and the improv-heavy 'The League' reveals that she's got the chops for such an undertaking (and she is heartbreaking, winning, and lovely), the real revelation is Shepard. You might recognize him from comedies of such variable quality as Let's Go to Prison, Idiocracy, Without a Paddle, and Baby Mama, but absolutely nothing in his previous work suggested he could pull something like this off. As the two go through their painful journey into sexual adventurousness and, maybe, back again, the two actors make us care, and empathize, every step of the way, with Aselton's sure hand behind the camera providing sensitive, sure guidance. I popped this DVD in, honestly, out of a sense of obligation and, largely thanks to how it was marketed, absolutely no expectations whatsoever. I finished it with a continued respect for Aselton, a newfound one for Shepard, and a reaffirmed belief that movie marketing is headed up, by and large, by a team of trained chimps with cocaine habits. Ignore the cover, watch the movie.

I'll start with the one bone I need to pick: the title of the movie, The Freebie. The name implies that the film is fun and lighthearted. Sure, at times. But, as a whole, this is a serious story that will surely be relatable to a whole lot of people. And, while I'm on the topic, I get the impression that a lot of people were misled by both the poster (which makes it look like an Jud Apatow movie) and the casting of Dax Shepard, who is mostly known for his comedic roles. Thus, I'd guess, the low score the movie has on IMDb. The unreasonably low score.

So, I'm guessing, someone along the way knew that this was a pretty great movie and thus wanted it to be one that people would see. Thus the title. Thus the poster. Thus all the wrong people seeing this movie. The Freebie is for fans of Noah Baumbach and Joe Swanberg.

What The Freebie is is naturalistic drama done right. The story is simple: a happy couple decide to "fix" their bedroom apathy by taking a single night to go out and share some bone with a stranger. Both Katie Aselton and Shepard are fantastic, both as lovers and as people going through a mighty big challenge together. Much of the dialogue in the first two acts plays through in a way that makes you wish it was your relationship - the two leads seeming so uniquely happy together at times that you get the feeling that Aselton took from her personal life for the script. Things change a bit in the third act, as they should. Things get, well, heavy.

Knowing that the writer/director, Aselton, is married to actor/writer/director Mark Duplass, I half expected the film to have a Mumblecore vibe. Not really the case. The cinematography is solid, if simple, the picture always looking big and bright and, at times, quite stylized. And sure, the writing and acting are great, but it's the combination of clever editing and the believable bond between the two leads that really make this thing work.

I don't want to give too much away. Go watch the movie ... it's streaming right now on Netflix and up for rent at your local video store. I'll be excited to see what Katie does next. I could see the coupling of this project and her role on "The League" getting her some rom-com roles alongside Paul Rudd or Seth Rogan or whoever. I hope she passes on those. I love to see a smart, talented female "make it" in any male-dominated industry. I think Katie has what it takes to have a solid career as a filmmaker, The Freebie standing as a very promising directorial debut.

Advertised as "A one night experiment in infidelity", The Freebie starts, progresses, and ends in such a strange independent state that when it's over you're like "what just happened?" It's a humble film that was released in September of 2010. If it hadn't been for the recently canned radio show DreX in the Morning, I probably would've never heard of this film. Good or bad I'm still debating.

The film is very "silent" if that makes any sense. The movie seems to be like a little kid daring to take his first step. He never really gets off his hands and knees and finally gets on his feet. He just crawls for a while hoping to gain some notice. No scenes in The Freebie stand out, and the dialog is the only thing this film has really going for it. It's a little dry, and very independently shot. But that's the rewarding part about this. Me and some other girl could've probably made this film. That makes it easy to relate to since the characters are very comparable. So this is definitely a step in the right direction.

Darren and Annie (Sheppard and Aselton) are a couple that is struggling to get the spice back into the relationship. To prove their still "cool" and "hip" both decide to give each other a night off of marriage, and have a rules free evening. Why couples are stupid enough to do that, no idea, but this means that both of them can do whatever they please as long as they go back to their marriage duty the next day. After a while, Darren makes note of Annie's awkward behavior, and her arrival at home at 6 AM. That's when they both figure out they've made a big mistake.

Like I said, The Freebie is as almost as if nothing happened. Even the fights both Sheppard and Aselton have aren't as entertaining as they could be. It is amusing seeing Dax in a straight edge, serious film role after watching something as farce as Without a Paddle, but there isn't a whole lot new or amusing. The effort is here, but the execution is very lukewarm.

One last random fact that I discovered is that Joshua Leonard of The Blair Witch Project actually makes an appearance in the film. I think I'd rather see him being hunted by an invisible urban legend than being the victim to a ho-hum rom com.

Starring: Dax Sheppard and Katie Astelon. Directed by: Katie Astelon.

........... for one short scene !

Katie Aselton has given us a movie that is just one long and mostly uninteresting setup for one short scene. That one short scene with Dax Shepard and Katie Aselton is the grand blowout argument between Annie and Darren in the kitchen. At this point the story is almost over.

Then we jump to the reconciliation scene in the front seat of their auto parked in the driveway. So what you just watched for about 75 minutes comes to a head in the kitchen then fizzles out in the car. Love triumphs!

Then at movies end this couple start the movie all over again by bringing up the topic that almost dissolved their marriage to start with. But with one difference, they are speaking only in hypothetical terms. This is suppose to make it --- OK???

A silly unfunny marriage romp in an unbelievable story!

The high concept question asked by "The Freebie" is: If you and your spouse gave each other total freedom to indulge in a one-night stand, no questions asked and no strings attached, would you do it?

The couple at the center of the movie (played by Dax Shepard and the film's writer/director Katie Aselton) do it, or at least probably do it (I wasn't even aware that the film even hinted at ambiguity as to its outcome until after I'd already seen it and read comments from the Internet community about it -- it seemed pretty clear to me while watching the film). And the results, predictably, are disastrous for their relationship.

"The Freebie" is a frustrating viewing experience, mostly because of the characters played by Shepard and Aselton. They're the kind of people who talk and talk and talk about every last minute emotion and feeling they're having, treating each other more like their own personal blogs than like a life partner. Their relationship has fallen into a rut and no wonder -- I'd be sick to death of anyone who I spent that much time navel gazing with. By the time the movie's over, I didn't much care whether or not they stayed together, because them together drove me crazier than either of them did when they were apart from one another. When tensions overflow into a shockingly nasty (especially on the part of Shepard's husband) fight at the end, you're almost relieved, because for once these two people have stopped being so damn nicey-nice and understanding with one another and actually just say what they feel.

"The Freebie" is ultimately a little too slight and underdeveloped to really be satisfying, but I will admit that it had me and my wife talking quite a bit about even a couple of days after we'd seen it, so it obviously achieved something.

Grade: B-