Delayed Reaction: Sleeping With Other People

The Pitch: This is going to do to When Harry Met Sally what Bachelorette did to Bridesmaids.

How I Came Into It: Leslye Headland's debut feature, Bachelorette, was a mixed bag. I thought it had as many issues as it had strengths, but over time, the strengths stuck with me and the issues didn't matter as much. By the time I heard about her follow up, I was very excited to see it. The Venn diagram of the movies and TV shows I like has virtually the entire cast of this movie in the middle. Seeing this movie was less of an interest and more of an inevitability.

Why I Saw It: The thing that I like the most about Headland's movies is how she dirties up her characters without making me hate them. The Bachelorette trio of Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher, and Lizzie Caplan are pretty unlikable people, played by actresses who I like almost unconditionally. I never stop being on their side in the movie. In Sleeping With Other People, Headland's not as focused on seeing how messy the leads can be. Alison Brie and Jason Suidekis are so damn likable, why try to turn an audience against them. They've got giant flaws that the movie doesn't avoid. Mostly though, it's just scene after scene that allows them to shine. I think Alison Brie's lack of major roles is one of the greater oversights in Hollywood of the last 6-7 years. She and Suidekis are great together, able to move from comedic to dramatic beats with ease. Others like Jason Mantzoukas, Andrea Savage, Adam Scott, and Amanda Peet add a lot of flavor to it as well. I love Mantzoukas and Savage's end credits scene.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: Yeah, the ending is a little "Hollywood" if you want to use that as a pejorative. Personally, if given the choice, I'd rather see a happy ending than a sad one, so I'm fine with that. And, it's not like the movie was building toward anything other than that.
Really, everything after the time jump is a little off, like it was added in a later draft or something. I'm not sure what the smoother way to handle it would've been, but what they did needed another pass or two.

Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend