‘The Threesome’ Review: Romcoms Are Officially Back

The two necessities of a good romcom are a great script and a charming cast, The Threesome has both. The film follows Olivia and Connor, played by Zoey Deutch and Jonah Hauer-King respectively, who have this ‘will they won’t they’ relationship spanning years. Connor, in an attempt to get Olivia’s attention, sparks up a conversation with a pretty girl who had been stood up. The three end up having a wild night that gives the movie its title. After that night we are shown a new reality for the characters of conflicting relationships, nightmare situations, and heartwarming romance that is sure to win you over. Read our full review for The Threesome below. 

I first became aware of Chad Hartigan with his 2020 feature Little Fish, an ahead of its time devastating romance that I think will go down as one of the greatest romances of the 2020’s, so needless to say my expectations for The Threesome were high. And frankly my expectations were met. I can’t give all the credit to Hartigan because the real stars of his films are the scripts, which in the case of The Threesome was written by first time writer Ethan Ogilby. There was a lot that the script had to achieve. It had to be romantic and comedic, of course, but in the case of The Threesome, it also had to show each person’s side. There are three players in this film, Olivia, Connor, and Jenny, who each needed time to build character and give us an understanding of their choices, which I think the writer did nearly perfectly. There are moments where I am annoyed with the characters’ decisions but they never feel out of left field. The script all came together because the characters spoke like actual people, it was actually quite funny, and there was no ‘bad guy’ just people trying to figure out a tricky situation. 

The bare minimum I need to enjoy a romcom is chemistry between the leads. For the most part The Threesome has this. Zoey Deutch and Jonah Hauer-King have truly incredible chemistry. The film gives us a short montage of moments over their six week whirlwind romance, which instantly made me want them to be together. I mostly give credit to Zoey Deutch, because if there is one thing romcoms need more of it is Zoey Deutch. She has a Meg Ryan level of charisma that is needed for these kinds of movies. A perfect romcom lead. The only part of the chemistry that falters in The Threesome is with Ruby Cruz. I do think this plays in the favor of the larger narrative, but there are many scenes where it is obvious the director wants us to think that Hauer-King and Cruz will get together. It is just not believable in the slightest. It is not so egregious to the point of me not liking her as a character, but it was noticeable enough to take me out of the film. Outside of having chemistry with the male lead, Ruby Cruz is genuinely very good in The Threesome and garners a lot of sympathy on behalf of her sometimes unlikable character. 

Now as I said in the beginning, I think romcoms are officially back. There is one hiccup in my statement, in the way that I think they are back but in a different way. When I think about the movies that have come out this year that are labeled as romcoms, like The Threesome, The Materialists, or Oh, Hi!, I notice that they all feel the need to be more than just a romcom. As a fan of classic romcoms who sees the value in the simplicity the films can have, I can still appreciate this new evolution of romcoms. They are even more screenplay heavy, the characters are much more realistic or aware of the outside world, and they have another genre element outside of just romance and comedy. For the most part this other genre element is drama, which is present in The Threesome and The Materialists, but there are also movies like Oh, Hi!, Together, and Companion that use horror and thriller elements. I think these additions are necessary because the romcom genre has become stale for a lot of people, and all traditional romcoms that come out today either feel like Hallmark movies or rehashings of better movies. The Threesome is a perfect addition to this new wave of romcoms, with its discussions of topics like abortion, cheating, expectations of fathers, and modern feminism feeling very fresh. 

The Threesome was directed by Chad Hartigan and written by Ethan Ogilby. The ensemble is made up of Zoey Deutch, Jonah Hauer-King, Ruby Cruz, and Jaboukie Young-White. The Threesome was released to theatres on September 5. 

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