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.

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.

All motion pictures i have experienced of the Sundance film festival, were not impressive. This however is an exception. I loved this movie, and i believe it the perfect movie for all couples.

Anyone wanting to watch a movie produced by a film company called "Pariah", would want to think twice- however after seeing the trailer and realising Lauren Graham was in it(being a HUGE Gilmore Girls fan), well it was worth a try. Julianna Nicholsan is perfect - i believe this is her first starring role, Jay Mohr is average BUT Lauren Graham's sarcastic attitude brought to this movie is AMAZING. I wish she could have had a greater on screen time.

This was a good comedy in years. I have found bedroom comedies very pleasing - but this certainly was an exception. The standard of this movie proved that it could have done extremely well commmercially( it did well critically), if released in theaters.

Well, the movie did turn out a lot better than i expected. It's not boring and it's not unoriginal. It's really not a silly romantic comedy. The situations the characters put themselves in are very unusual, of course, we're still talking about a movie, but the main characters are indeed plausible. Donald is, of course, an exaggeration, but he's just a pawn in the movie, a means to prove something. The ending isn't one of those ridiculously happy, always the same, moral containing pieces of crap you can usually see in movies of the genre. I genuinely liked it and i'm hard to please when it comes to this particular genre of movies. It's worth a watch. Besides, it's better directed than other movies, the story line always stands up, the characters themselves stand up. And they do not experience this miraculous change and love is not revealed to them like a holly god given artifact, yada, yada. At the end of it all you actually see yourself going through it all, the movie makes you feel something, you may even learn a thing or two. It's not the usual hope-producing, tissue moistening idiocy. It's a good movie, not a consolation prize for teary women around the world.

This is a rather intelligent and sincere film about commitment. Personally I find it to be more romance than comedy, because of its insight in the emotions involved. There are some funny lines, but the exploration of love is more poignant. As the story goes, it becomes more and more obvious that we're not in a screwball comedy about swingers, but in a plea for long-term relationship. The acting is good enough, especially from Julianne Nicholson and Lauren Graham (who are supposed to be sisters, haha). Too good that the cynical sister prevented the danger of situation becoming corny after Alice's final, emotional speech (pause... "We don't do laundry"). But that also underlined the fact that this kind of relationship wasn't for everyone.