‘The Threesome’ Review: Zoey Deutch, Jonah Hauer-King, and Ruby Cruz Charms in Kinky and Compassionate Rom-Com
Delivers on supreme hetero chaos through a grounded and thoroughly charming lens.
‘The Threesome’ Review: Zoey Deutch, Jonah Hauer-King, and Ruby Cruz Charms in Kinky and Compassionate Rom-Com
I like a good romantic comedy here and there. I'm a single Pisces person; I can't have too much before yearning for love. However, despite some rare exceptions like Rye Lane, all you see today are remixes of Jane Austen or Shakespeare's stories. It's disappointing that there aren't many rom-coms out there, and the ones that come out exist within safe parameters due to writers' inherent fear of depicting messy relationships. Thankfully, Chad Hartigan's latest film, The Threesome, which I saw at SXSW, delivers on supreme hetero chaos through a grounded and thoroughly charming lens.
Credit: Star Thrower Entertainment
MPA Rating: NR
Runtime: 1 Hour and 51 Minutes
Production Companies: Star Thrower Entertainment, Filmopoly, Jupiter Peak
Distributor: N/A
Director: Chad Hartigan
Writer: Ethan Ogilby
Cast: Zoey Deutch, Jonah Hauer-King, Ruby Cruz, Jaboukie Young-White, Josh Segarra, Arden Myrin, Julia Sweeney
Release Date: N/A
Connor (Jonah Hauer-King) has pined for Olivia (Zoey Deutch) – his former co-worker and one-time situationship – for years. Olivia is aloof, indecisive, and messing around with a married man, Kevin (Josh Segarra). She doesn't have things quite figured out for herself. Nevertheless, Connor adores her endlessly.
While visiting his friend and former coworker Greg (Jaboukie Young-White) at a restaurant, Connor notices a lonely girl, Jenny (Ruby Cruz), who had just been stood up on a date. He comes in, and they hit it off. Olivia, nearby and slightly jealous, joins. They take Jenny under their wing and have a night out. What follows is a threesome at Connor's. The morning after, Olivia disappears. Jenny and Connor have one more casual hookup before parting ways.
Several hours later, Connor bares his soul to Olivia. To his surprise, they go out and eventually become a couple. After six weeks of bliss, Olivia finds out that she’s pregnant. While stunned at their new development, they find Jenny on Connor's doorstep with the same news. When both of Connor's baby mamas ultimately decide to keep the baby, it's up to him to be the best supportive dad, especially since he didn't have one growing up. Though his heart pines for Olivia, Connor helps Jenny through her pregnancy, including playing a fake boyfriend for the sake of her strict Christian parents.
The Threesome Is Not the Raunchy Rom-Com You Might Think
If The Threesome were released in the ‘90s or ‘00s, it would play its beats in the most explicit way possible. However, it’s less of a raunchy rom-com; the title merely serves as a tumultuous canon event that affects the lives of its respective parties and is concerned with its characters going through trimesters of the trials and tribulations of a dual pregnancy situation.
The film primarily thrives through Ethan Ogilby’s thoughtful and witty screenplay, which actively skirts around regressive and lazy clichés by being mindful of our current culture. If this film was made in the ‘90s or ‘00s, Olivia and Jenny would be competing for Connor's heart, or the script would shame them for getting down and dirty. However, it avoids such trappings with resonant maturity and welcoming self-awareness (Deutch's Olivia questioning, "Does this make me a Republican?" after choosing to keep her baby is one of the highlight jokes). There are areas where it becomes a searing portrait of millennial existentialism, even before anybody gets pregnant. Maybe I’m a city kid, but those small-town – is Phoenix, Arizona a small city? – hetero U-Haul couples rushing into a baby is a lot for me to stomach. The confidence in the writing makes it work despite how much of a logical stretch some beats are.
Much of The Threesome feels nuanced as Ogilby and director Chad Hartigan treat each character as a person as each party faces adult issues that stem from themselves, which oftentimes inadvertently hurts someone else. Olivia faces self-doubt and insecurities, Connor has unresolved childhood trauma, and Jenny faces judgment from her parents. It finds that secret sauce to what, I think, makes for a strong rom-com where the circumstances are more frustrating than the characters’ actions. As messy as those actions may be – sometimes it rivals Challengers in sheer chaos – there's a shared goal of everyone trying to get their shit together while navigating into new and terrifying waters. Granted, the story suffers from being a tad bit too long and some lingering final twists feel unnecessary. Ultimately, it makes the most of its premise with an admirable earnestness, thanks to director Chad Hartigan’s empathetic and grounded approach.
The Threesome Has A Trio of Excellent Performances
Zoey Deutch could foster chemistry with a brick wall if you let her. Deutch is one of those actresses with unlimited charisma, and her sheer talent and skill add such life and realism to Olivia. She makes inane or absurd mistakes, sometimes as a detriment to the story, but Deutch textures her with magnetic tenderness and charm. She and Hauer-King have great romantic rapport as they bear one of my favorite pairings: indecisive girlfailure and down horrendously boyfriend.
Jonah Hauer-King overcomes the task of making such a straight, basic man in this distinct situation extremely likable, despite Connor not being as interesting as the women in this story. He’s so charming as a supportive, regular guy. He's not perfect and is trying to do the right thing, resulting in a portrait of the best baby daddy in film.
Ruby Cruz is such a delight as Jenny. I wish she had more to do, but Cruz bears a strong screen presence as she showcases good dramatic range and impeccable dry wit with line deliveries that had me busting a gut. The film also shares some good supporting actors that round out the witty affair. Jaboukie Young-White as Greg is a ton of fun, making snide remarks to Connor while supporting him, and Josh Segarra as Olivia’s boy toy Kevin, evokes maximum himboness even though here he’s a weaselly fuckboi.
Final Thoughts
Fun for everyone involved, The Threesome is an adorable rom-com powered by its trio of performances from Zoey Deutch, Jonah Hauer-King, and Ruby Cruz, and a clever and compassionate screenplay.
