Before the SXSW premiere of The Threesome at the Zach Theater in Austin, a special guest moderator took to the stage to tell the audience about what we would see. They noted that the director, Chad Hartigan, was a big fan of romantic comedies and wanted to do something different with the genre. They also pointed out that Hartigan and writer Ethan Ogilby wanted to create a film that felt more serious than most romantic comedies and one where the characters would have to deal with the consequences of their actions. Before exiting the stage, it was suggested that The Threesome would feature plenty of surprises and that we wouldn’t see where the film would go. Needless to say, as someone who was already super excited to see the movie, this introduction only elevated my excitement that much more.
The Threesome follows Connor Blake (Jonah Hauer-King), a charming thirtysomething who has a massive crush on Olivia (Zoey Deutch), but unfortunately, they aren’t on the same page regarding relationships. Long story short, Connor wants something serious, but Olivia doesn’t. One afternoon, while visiting Olivia at the coffee shop where she works, Connor runs into a customer named Jenny, played by Ruby Cruz. The two begin to flirt in front of Olivia, who suggests a rather impromptu date at Connor’s apartment that evening. As the night goes on, sexual tension begins to build, which leads to exactly what the film’s title suggests. However, it is the aftermath of the evening that changes Connor, Jenny, and Olivia’s lives forever.
It is hard to discuss The Threesome without spoiling it. This is one of those films you should know as little as possible about before seeing it, making marketing it a real challenge. While there are plenty of surprises in the film, I don’t know if every single one of them was nearly as shocking or poignant as Hartigan or Ogilby intended. The themes explored in The Threesome are much more mature than what one would expect from a romantic comedy. Connor, Olivia, and Jenny face repercussions for their actions, which is an excellent concept to explore but becomes somewhat frustrating to watch by the end.
In most romantic comedies, one must accept a certain amount of suspension of disbelief to enjoy the genre. With this film, the audience is told, pretty much from the very beginning, that this film will not be your typical rom-com. Instead, we are prompted to believe that the story will be grounded in reality despite certain situations being elevated for laughs. The themes explored will have consequences and are to be taken seriously. These messages ultimately led me to not fully love the film because I couldn’t get past how easy it should have been for these three characters to sit down and have a mature conversation with one another. There is just so much of this story that relies on the miscommunication or lack of communication between these characters that, after a while, I struggled to feel bad for them despite the actors giving the material their all.
That being said, Zoey Deutch, Jonah Hauer-King, and Ruby Cruz are remarkable together. The three of them played off one another with such ease, and I loved how radically different each of their personalities was. These characters feel like people who exist in real life. Deutch portrays Olivia as a no-nonsense person with a take-charge personality. She is the dominant one of the three, and it is easy to see and understand why Connor and Jenny are drawn to her. Hauer-King plays Connor as the midwestern nice guy who thinks he has his life together but doesn’t. He is charming but has some minor toxic personality traits hidden beneath the surface. Cruz, as Jenny, was probably my favorite character of the three. She plays Jenny as very innocent and naive, but deep down, she is afraid of dealing with the consequences and goes to great lengths to avoid confrontation with Connor and her family.
In terms of direction, Hartigan does a solid job with this project. While there isn’t much about the direction that stood out, I can say that Hartigan’s direction shines the brightest when the surprises are revealed. As noted above, while some of the reveals are more shocking than others, Hartigan effectively executes all of these moments. There is only one scene that bugged me regarding direction: a profound moment when Connor passed out. The way the camera does this half-shift felt so amateurish that it completely took me out of the film and ruined the impact the scene should have had on me.
All in all, The Threesome is a funny, enjoyable, and wholly entertaining fresh take on the traditional rom-com. While the concept of creating a romantic comedy with real-life consequences doesn’t fully come together as well as it could have, I admire the risk, and it is something that I would love to see explored more in future films. Deutch, Hauer-King, and Cruz create quite the dynamic threesome, shining bright and elevating the source material with their committed and well-rounded performances. The Threesome is worth a watch.
Scott Menzel’s final rating for The Threesome is a 7 out of 10.
