Seeing Other People
Seeing Other People
| 07 May 2004 (USA)
Seeing Other People Trailers

Ed and Alice are two months shy of getting married when she realizes that she wishes she'd had a more active love life while still single. Reluctantly, Ed agrees to have an open relationship in the months before their wedding, and initially this seems to improve their connection, particularly in the bedroom. However, as Ed and Alice get more involved in their own flings, the experiment goes awry.

Reviews
peruviansilver

This is high on my list of favorite comedies. Its actually been years since I've seen it and I still recommend it to my friends. Strangely it is a mostly unknown film, but it is so darn funny. I love how it deals with that nagging feeling anyone getting married has "Am I ready, what else is out there?". Well, what is out there can be far worse than what you have and very hilarious at the same time.Intelligent comedies like this are a rarity. The reason that they are a rarity is because it is all about the writing and good writers are hard to find.I find it interesting how 90% of the reviews of this film loved it while there are two reviews that absolutely trash it. All I can think of is that those people have rammed any of their doubts about their relationship so deep down into their subconscious that anyone who even remotely gives light to those insecurities will be viciously attacked. The rest of us prefer to laugh it off and chalk it up to being human.

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Jerry Honeycutt

I happened into the den this morning during the scene where Ed was engaged in the 3-Way and thought my wife was catching up on some early morning porn! Much to my surprise it grabbed my attention and I rewound it and we started watching it at 4:30 in the morning! What a very entertaining, rich, funny and well developed plot line and script. We both thoroughly enjoyed it, my wife so much that she shared the experience with her girlfriends at work! Going on to recommend it and say what a "kick" she got out of it. I am in my late 40's and she in her early 50's. I think this movie would have appeal to both young and old. An unexpected, very enjoyable surprise. Nice work! Thanks! Two thumbs up!

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Ana_Banana

This is a rather intelligent and sincere film about commitment. Personally I find it to be more romance than comedy, because of its insight in the emotions involved. There are some funny lines, but the exploration of love is more poignant. As the story goes, it becomes more and more obvious that we're not in a screwball comedy about swingers, but in a plea for long-term relationship. The acting is good enough, especially from Julianne Nicholson and Lauren Graham (who are supposed to be sisters, haha). Too good that the cynical sister prevented the danger of situation becoming corny after Alice's final, emotional speech (pause... "We don't do laundry"). But that also underlined the fact that this kind of relationship wasn't for everyone.

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CJGlowacki

Sophisticated sex comedies are always difficult to pull off. Look at the films of Blake Edwards, who is arguably the master of the genre, and you will find just as many misses as hits. For, if a film of this nature ever fails to work, it can never fall back on the tried and true toilet humor of a teen sex comedy [i.e. "American Pie"], or warm the audience with the sentimentality of a romantic comedy [i.e. Julia Roberts' entire career]. It can only maintain a push to the end, and hope that the audience can appreciate the almost required irony of it's resolution.Written by husband/wife team Wally Wolodarsky and Maya Forbes, "Seeing Other People" opens with engaged couple Ed & Alice [Jay Mohr & Julianne Nicholson] only seconds away from rear-ending the car in front of them. As the frame freezes, we unexpectedly hear the thoughts and fears of both characters. From here on out, we welcome that the story about to unfold will enjoy a point of view from both sexes.Two months shy of their vows, Ed & Alice already look and act like an old married couple. In an early bathroom scene, their actions alone show us just how comfortable they are with each other and how long they have been together. So when the line to propel the plot forward is uttered - expectedly from the least likely of the two - it is as if the very relationship itself is calling for a change, even if it means it's own destruction.Once all the ground rules are set [Ed can not sleep with her mother or, for that matter, Salma Hayek], the two head off in their separate directions in the hope of finding some meaningless sex to strengthen their relationship. At first, everything seems to go as planned as their daily trysts only help to fire up the passion between them. But predictably, as the deeper emotions of regret and jealousy begin to emerge, they soon find themselves growing apart and on the verge of breaking up. All of these actions leading to a resolution you may or may not like - depending on your own degree of cynicism.For a comedy like this, you need a solid cast with supporting characters just as strong as the leads. And director Wolodarsky does not disappoint. Here he has cast two of my favorite actresses as sisters - Julianne Nicholson & Lauren Graham - and allows them to play to their strengths. For Nicholson, who has always reminded me of a young Shirley MacLaine, she brings an air of naivete and vulnerability to Alice even when her actions seems less than so. And as for Graham, an actress who has proven she could outperform an entire Howard Hawks ensemble, she steals every scene she is in with an edgy "no BS" persona. As for the guys, Jay Mohr is serviceable here as is Josh Charles. "Malcolm in the Middle"'s Byron Cranston has to be applauded for taking on a British accent and letting it all hang out. But the real treat here is Andy Richter and his sub-plot involving single mother, Helen Slater. While his scenes almost seem to belong in another movie, they are by far the funniest and his dead panned delivery steals the show.For an independent production, "Seeing Other People" has a more personal and introspective feeling - something that would be noticeable absent from a big Hollywood film of this kind. Not to mention that this film also has some genuinely funny moments - unlike, say, most Hollywood comedies in general.Rating [on a 5 star system] : 3 1/2 stars

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