The Threesome, 2025.
Directed by Chad Hartigan.
Starring Zoey Deutch, Jonah Hauer-King, Ruby Cruz, Jaboukie Young-White, Josh Segarra, Robert Longstreet, Arden Myrin, Kristin Slaysman, Allan McLeod, Julia Sweeney, and Tommy Do.
SYNOPSIS:
A young man’s perennial crush leads him into an unexpected threesome, he thinks it’s his ultimate fantasy come true. When the fantasy ends, all three are left with sobering real-world consequences, and to take responsibility for their actions.
There are two routes to take about a film where a good-natured man finds himself in the unexpected predicament that he is the father-to-be with two different women, and a situation in itself that partially sprung from a three-way: playing that premise as a straight romantic drama, or leaning into the absurdity of those odds for a romantic comedy. Titled The Threesome, this is a classic case of a director unsure of which direction to take, hoping that smashing the two tones together will work. For director Chad Hartigan and screenwriter Ethan Ogilby, it doesn’t come together.
For a while, it seems as though the filmmakers might pull it off. The story takes its time setting up its characters and establishing who they are, what they want, and their connection to one another. Connor Blake (a miscast Jonah Hauer-King, also given a bland mode for this material, but more about that later) is adept at articulating why partners are good for one another, as seen in the opening, delivering a speech for his best friend and gay newlywed Greg (Jaboukie Young-White), but his personal love life is directionless.
Connor still pines after longtime crush Olivia Capitano (Zoey Deutch, delivering excellent work in what also turns out to be the most complex role here), who isn’t that interested in him. Or maybe she is, and part of her is aware they would foresee their futures in a manner that isn’t mutually agreeable. There is also the factor that she has a push-pull attraction to bad boy Kevin (Josh Segarra), with whom she is trying her hardest to end things.
Olivia deals with these mixed emotions by interloping into a conversation between Connor and Jenny Brooks (Ruby Cruz), who has been stood up by a date at the bar where she and Greg work (following his best friend’s advice to try talking to new people). She begins to realize that perhaps she is taking his goodness for granted, stemming from how easily he chats up a stranger of the opposite sex and makes a friend. As a result, Olivia serves as a wingman for Connor. However, ultimately, the three return together and have sex together offscreen (because apparently, even a movie called The Threesome is sanitized in this modern sexless age of relatively mainstream American movies), which sets off a chain reaction of new dynamics between these characters that quickly detonates into something much more serious and life-changing.
After that night, Connor and Olivia start exploring the possibility of a serious relationship, which only becomes more serious when, after having sex again, he accidentally gets her pregnant. And while the shy, inexperienced, Christian-raised Jenny doesn’t regret the sexual experimentation and never necessarily had a reason to believe Connor would want a second date (although something about his ghosting doesn’t feel right, saying more about the depressing nature of modern dating than anything else), it turns out the morning shower sex they had when Olivia was gone also resulted in a pregnancy.
Across the three trimesters, Connor tries to do right by both Olivia and Jenny within relationship dynamics that change and evolve. Olivia questions whether or not she wants to keep the child, especially after learning about the previously mentioned morning sex behind her back, which she finds hurtful, even if they weren’t technically dating yet. She also still loves him and is wrestling with how society would perceive her if she took a man back who also plans to be a presence in the life of another child from another sexual partner. Meanwhile, Jenny’s religious upbringing comes into play; she herself is not that strict of a follower, but she is concerned about what her parents will think of her being somewhat of a single mother, faking a real relationship with Connor in front of them until the time feels right to tell the truth that it was more of a fling and that, although he plans to be there, they aren’t lovers.
This is all fascinating and relatively fresh dramatic material (shot with arresting cinematography by Sing Howe Yam, at one point observing a conversation between two characters with one of them reflected in a mirror on one side of the screen) that is consistently undermined by occasionally crossing over into situational humor or an unfortunate predictable twist that’s only serving to make the situation more messy rather than adding anything to the story.
It’s a lot like Connor himself, who is always annoyingly making inappropriate jokes, not maliciously, but as a coping defense mechanism. Sometimes, it comes across as a reflection of the filmmakers not knowing what to do with these characters and material other than gesturing at topicality regarding society. There is also a third-act situation that is begging for a full-blown comedic treatment, and even seems to be set up that way before abruptly reverting to shoddy drama. Even the attempts to humanize the religious aspects of Jenny’s family come across as halfhearted, as we never really get to know them or learn much about her.
The same could be said for Connor, who has an awful lot of free time to run around assisting two different women with doctor appointments, yoga sessions, and other preparations, since he happens to be a struggling musician, also given the bland personality of a person who does no wrong in dealing with his mistakes. He is portrayed as handsome and saintly, which also makes for dull given the chaotic scenario he is in. It’s not that The Threesome comes across as dishonest, but rather too polished, with only Olivia’s character (and Zoey Deutch’s emotionally layered performance) cutting through to something poignant. There is a more interesting take on this narrative from her perspective, and presumably one with a stronger tonal balance.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder
