Review of Sleeping with Other People (2015) by Kevin P — 05 Jul 2017

Strengths: This movie is led by two of the best comedic actors around. Alison Brie (Elaine Dalton) and Jason Sudekis (Jake) both give some of the best performances of their careers. Brie really hits it out of the park as a girl who is likable, but clearly has problems. In fact, the movie is ripe with those. Flawed, fleshed out characters we can relate to and like. Even Amanda Peetâ(TM)s (Paula) character is someone you can root for and sheâ(TM)s actively in the way of the romantic leads getting together. Speaking of her, the supporting cast is great. Natasha Lyonne (Kara), Adam Scott (Matthew Sobvechik), Jason Mantzoukas (Xander), and Andrea Savage (Naomi) are all delightful. The dialogue between everyone is sharp. These feel like real conversations and most of them are funny. It also manages to avoid the pitfalls of the clichà (C)s weâ(TM)re used to in the genre and tells a modern tale that gets almost everything right.

Weaknesses: There are a handful of moments where you can tell that the movie is trying too hard to be edgy or raunchy. I also found one key scene to be weird. The two leads take Molly and go to a kidâ(TM)s party. Itâ(TM)s not bad, but I feel like something wackier needed to happen there. That needed to be played for more laughs.

Overall: A great romantic comedy. The combination of a great cast, strong dialogue, relatable characters, and genuinely funny moments makes it an underrated gem.