Written by Ethan Ogilby & directed by Chad Hartigan, the film stars Zoey Deutch, Jonah Hauer-King, Ruby Cruz, Jaboukie Young White, Josh Segarra, Robert Longstreet, Arden Myrin, Kristin Slaysman, Allan McLeod, and Julia Sweeney. The stars appear to align for Connor (Hauer-King) when his impulsive longtime crush Olivia (Deutch) draws him into a wild, seductive threesome with the alluring Jenny (Cruz). But what starts as a spontaneous thrill soon spirals into something far more complicated, forcing both women to confront the fallout and pulling all three into the raw, beautifully messy chaos of adulthood.

Whenever I see Zoey Deutch in a new movie, it feels like something worth watching. She’s always picking out some of the most unique roles out there. I remember Jonah Hauer-King from the new I Know What You Did Last Summer, which is not a good impression to go off of. I’m not as familiar with Ruby Cruz. When you put these three leads together, you get something that you need to see, even if it does run a bit too long.

Much like the review before this one, Twinless, I am seeing easy comparisons between the two films. They each feel like they are geared towards the current young-adult generation. They both also have plots that manage to subvert your expectations. Before watching this, I felt like I might get second-hand embarrassment while discussing the film’s subject matter. Instead, we get a thematically rich film that I believe will resonate with many of its viewers.

The film’s set up to get to where it needs to go can be quite messy. Everything conveniently happens to push the story forward. At the same time, the film has plenty of characterization that helps breathe into each character. Each character has the best of intentions, but are also incredibly imperfect. Jonah Hauer-King & Ruby Cruz are the standouts here. Hauer-King easily makes up for I Know What You Did Last Summer, while Cruz puts on an acting showcase of emotion that should catapult her into more & bigger roles.

Since I got a digital screener, I got to see how long the film was and see how much of the film was left. The film has a lot going for it between the story and the characters, even to a fault. It’s honestly far too long as it adds more and more to the story with a pace that drags. It just felt like the halfway point, or the second act, could have trimmed up the runtime to help create a more cohesive runtime. The film has a lot of great messages that makes me unsure if a slow burn of a pace was required.

By the time the film reaches its third act, it sort of brings all of the themes together to a realistic scenario. Given everything that occurs beforehand, the twists and turns revealed in the third act feel like a gut- punch and I don’t think it would have been possible without Zoey Deutch’s emotional performance.

When the film reaches its conclusion, it does go for this happy Hollywood-type ending that I don’t think worked with everything that happened. It can make it more satisfying, but it’s simply not realistic enough. I can easily see viewers interpreting the conclusion as forgiveness. Personally, I didn’t totally buy it.

Considering the film is being labeled as a romantic comedy, director Chad Hartigan & writer Ethan Ogilby do a great job at making the film as realistic as possible. For me, I was expecting something goofier, while the actual film itself is meant to take itself more seriously. There are some solid laughs here and there, but it can also be quite dark at times. It may be too big for its own ambition, but Hartigan & Ogilby still do a great job with leaving you with something meaningful by the end.

Overall, I found The Threesome to be quite surprising due to the performances, themes, and the writing. The film can certainly overstay its welcome and could have cut a bit of its runtime. In the end, this will leave you with something profound about accountability & forgiveness.

VERDICT: 3.5/5 (Pretty Good)