Movie of (Last) Week - Sleeping With Other People

Alexa: “Sleeping with Other People” is sort of my quintessential Netflix movie - not good enough for me to pay to see it in theaters, an enjoyable way to spend an hour and a half of my time, but probably not strong enough to stick with me for long. It’s a movie I’ve been meaning to watch because of its cast, and it’s so charming and fun largely because of them. It’s packed with great supporting players (though I hate seeing Adam Scott be such a jagweed). Alison Brie and Jason Sudeikis transform two leads who could come across as super unlikable into flawed but endearing people. It has all the trappings of a traditional rom-com, but Brie and Sudeikis have such natural chemistry that Jake and Lainey’s story feels much more organic than a lot of other fare in this genre. Their will-they-won’t-they friendship and the picturesque New York scenery give it somewhat of a “When Harry Met Sally” vibe. But unlike that film, “Sleeping with Other People” never manages to transcend far beyond its standard rom-com surface.

Joel: If there is a genre of movie that is more overdone than any other, it’s likely the independent dramedy about the relationships and hardships between men and women in the modern day big city. Sleeping With Other People fits the genre perfectly, having all the proper tropes. We have a guy and girl who are trying to be just friends. They’re perfect for each other and everyone can see that right away except for them. We have the married best friend couple wanting to live vicariously through this new couple. We have the constant references to one specific classic romantic movie, it being The Graduate for this particular movie. We have the most standard possible careers for these two that could be expected, with Jake having sold out to some vaguely corporate entity, and Lainey double dipping into the indy film career pool by both being a kindergarten teacher and applying to med school.
What I’m trying to point out here is that Sleeping With Other People doesn't even look for new ground to cover. So when you have a movie like that, it all comes down to how enjoyable it is to spend time with these characters. Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie carry the weight of the movie and do a pretty good job with it. They’re able to take characters that could easily be despicable and make them both, if not quite likable, at least sympathetic. They’ve both created characters that are easy to root for, and for a movie like this that’s really one of the most important things. The strongest scenes are the ones where Jake and Lainey are just spending time with one another, talking about their lives, or even just talking about nothing. I ended up wanting to just spend more time listening to their conversations. These two, based on their charm and charisma with each other, are able to not exactly breathe life into a well worn genre, but are able to make this particular movie enjoyable enough that it’s worth the investment to watch it on Netflix.

Chris: This is another one of those movies where the cast was enjoyable enough to keep my attention throughout the movie but the movie itself didn't really feel like anything special or anything I'd remember beyond writing this review. The chemistry between Sudeikis and Brie is undeniable but I just wish they had better subject matter to deal with or at least something more original within an often explored genre. If you want a similar premise (two generally awful people falling in love or learning what it takes for these types of people to be in a relationship), I suggest you start watching You're the Worst because it's done in a much more original way which is odd considering it's a TV show and has to confine to strict policies. YTW also has a cast full of chemistry and is successful covering a wider spectrum of emotions that stick with the audience longer after the show is over and that something I definitely can't say the same for Sleeping With Other People.

Jason: I generally enjoy films that start with OK Go songs. But there is an exception to every rule. I’m not really sure where to file it as a movie. Is it a rom com? I didn’t really find it all that funny nor romantic. Is it a drama? It was dramatic but I didn’t end up caring what happened to any of the characters. There were not any likeable personalities in the entire ensemble. And none of them seemed to learn much of anything besides “I shouldn’t be a horrible person to this one other person. Everybody else is fair game!” Joel has stated before that he has gotten 2 hours into a film only to pause it and find only 20 minutes behind him. I got that with this one. It had Return of the King levels of false endings and should have ended with Lanie moving away and both of them becoming more fulfilled individuals for their shared learning experience. That would have been a more interesting finale. Instead, we were saddled with a generic “everything is great for the two jerks” scenario. Snooze. Don’t get me wrong: I like the cast as actors but this just wasn’t their vehicle.