Jake and Lainey have something in common: they both fail miserably at monogamous relationships. Jake is a nice enough guy, but no girl can seem to tame his womanizing ways, while Lainey just can’t stop cheating on her men. Jake and Lainey share some history and their lack of fidelity finds them meeting up in group therapy for people struggling with a sex addiction.
Their platonic friendship is based on an agreement to be completely honest and open with each other to help them each to overcome their monogamy issues. They agree not to have sex and quite predictably, it’s not long before their strong friendship turns into something more complicated and substantial.
One problem with romantic comedies is that their leads are often really nice characters who, as people, are often completely unbelievable. One refreshing aspect of Sleeping with Other People is the complexity and reality of the characters. Jake and Lainey have shared some intimate and important moments. They lost their virginity to each other in college, Jake taught Lainey how to masturbate and they are both brutally honest with each other about their exploits and fears. They are just the best of friends, right?
Jason Sudeikis as Jake and Alison Brie as Lainey bring plenty of warmth and reality to their delightfully imperfect characters, breathing life to Leslye Headland’s very funny script, which never apologises for the poor and often inappropriate behaviour of its leads. In our sexually-free and yet unprecedentedly confusing times, these characters are what they are, which is morally loose but trying to do the right thing.
Sleeping with Other People might be a bit predictable but a great cast and plenty of laughs along the way make this film also very enjoyable to watch.
Also starring Natasha Lyonne and Amanda Peet, Sleeping with Other People does manage to bring a somewhat fresh feel to this overdone but popular genre.
Reviewed by Ceri Horner
Twitter: @CeriHorner
Rating out of 10: 8
Sleeping with Other People opens in cinemas 29 October 2015.
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