Sleeping With Other People

Good romantic comedies are hard to come by these days. They all follow a similar formula and there have been few released in the past few years that have really differentiated themselves. Since everyone knows the tropes rom coms need to execute the story at a high level to be enjoyable enough to overcome the predictability. Sleeping With Other People is a romantic comedy done right. The characters are likable, the actors are incredibly talented comedically, and none of the old rom com standbys seem too contrived or cliched.

I won’t lie that I was slightly worried when I first learned that Leslye Headland was the writer/director. Bachelorette was a bit of a letdown for me, even though I thought the cast was promising, and I was really worried about having a similar experience with Sleeping With Other People. Fortunately, Leslye raised her game as both a writer/director and I’m actually excited to see what she will do next.

Back to the matter at hand. What really makes this movie great is the cast. There are absolutely no weak links and each actor/actress is on their A game throughout. Our leads are Jake (Jason Sudeikus) and Lainey (Alison Brie) who after a one night virginity losing stand cross paths many years later both incapable of having healthy relationships. Instead of jumping into bed together, they agree they’re better off being friends and trying to help and support each other as they deal with their hectic relationships. Sudeikus and Brie are two of the most likable comedic actors working today and they have great chemistry here. It’s believable that they would be friends and their reactions to each traditional rom com beat feel completely sincere. We’re willing to go wherever the movie will take us because we believe in this couple so much and want to see them get together because we can see how they make each other better. They even pull of the scenes of gross-out humor which can be a real audience killer when done ineffectively.

What adds even more to this film is the great supporting cast. I will admit that I am a bit of a Jason Mantzoukas fanboy so I may be a little biased but he was absolutely hilarious here. I loved every line of his and the rapport with his onscreen wife, played by Andrea Savage, was absolutely fantastic. I could have sat through an entire movie of just those two riffing. Natasha Lyonne has a hilarious turn as Lainey’s best friend, she’s able to leave a huge impression with limited screen time. Amanda Peet and Adam Scott round out the supporting cast as more or less the straight characters but they are also very good at doing exactly what their roles need to do.

The director described the film as When Harry Met Sally with assholes which is an apt description but it feels more appropriate to say it’s the When Harry Met Sally for our time. Anyone like me who is tired of romantic comedies will find a breath of fresh air with Sleeping With Other People because it does everything right and everyone involved is just so damn likable.