Sleeping With Other People (2015)

I'm still watching Rom Coms! This time, on a co-worker's recommendation, I watched Sleeping With Other People, a 2015 movie starring Alison Brie and Jason Sudeikis. It's on Netflix right now, go watch this and come back ok? Thanks <3

 

I thought the movie was very cute overall. It's shockingly close to being a more modern adaptation of When Harry Met Sally, from the "men an women can't be friends" comments, to the ex that ruins one of the lead's days just to see. When Harry Met Sally definitely didn't invent either of those things but it did them so well that any follow up act is forced into comparison in my eyes. 

What makes it stand out is that the leads are both serial cheaters. Both are coming off relationships that ended because of their own infidelity and both struggle to start new relationships during the course of the film. I felt that the premise wasn't used to great extent and the fact that both are horrible at committing and have a rich history of cheating isn't much of a focus. Only Alison Brie's character, "Lainey" has any relationship troubles to overcome, having trouble ending an affair with a Gynecologist (played by a mustachioed Adam Scott!). Nothing is as airtight as When Harry Met Sally, I think I need to accept this. 

To fill the gap of the often loose plotting are a series of extremely cute scenes across Manhattan and Long Island. Sudeikis and Brie had a fun, bouncy chemistry that made every scene they shared feel impactful. In one scene both leads drop molly and attend an 8 year olds birthday party. In another Jason Sudeikis explains, in excruciating detail, how to finger a pussy (demonstrating on an empty juice jar). There's like, a lot more sex in this than any Rom Com I've seen in a while, which I found to be refreshing from the doll house quality that a lot of modern romances have.

Delightfully, this is also a movie that was slightly too early for the bland green screen sets shot with a shallow depth of field! This has scenes on actual New York streets! In actual Central Park! That's the actual New York skyline in the background! It gives the movie a LOT more character and as a result is much more memorable to me 3 days after I watched it, unlike People we meet on Vacation. 

 This movie also had what I guess is my second favorite use of David Bowie's Modern Love, second to my favorite movie ever, Frances Ha, and second because I only know 2 movies that use the song. 

I liked it a lot, I think I almost talked myself into loving it while writing this. I give it four stars, and it goes in my dvd wishlist.