Main Cast: William Baldwin, Kelly Lynch, Sherilyn Fenn, Joe Pantoliano, Gail Strickland
Release Year: 1993
Country: US
Run Time: 102 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A new '90s expressiveness regarding homosexuality in movies is gently mined for laughs in this 1993 comedy that predates the similar but much more raw Chasing Amy and slightly more humorous Threesome. With her straight greasy hair, semi-paranoid outlook, and leather jacket she wears like a shield, Connie (Kelly Lynch) already seems a bit unhinged. Then her girlfriend, Ellen (Sherilyn Fenn), breaks up their relationship and Connie loses it. In her grief, she hits upon a bizarre plan: Why not hire male prostitute Joe (William Baldwin) to seduce Ellen, then break her heart? Wouldn't that make Ellen rush back into Connie's arms? Of course not. For one thing, Joe's life is complicated by his protective yet sinister pimp (Joe Pantoliano) and a thug who mistakenly believes Joe set him up for a prison sentence. And Joe and Ellen fall in love. Yet an odd, sibling-like friendship develops between Joe and Connie that steers them through the repercussions of Ellen's discovery of their deceit, the thug's attack on Joe, and Joe's desire to give up prostitution. By the story's end, they've lost Ellen, but they have one another, and have learned to step beyond the protective relationships they have lost. Three of Hearts solidified William Baldwin's ascent to leading-man status (along with brothers Stephen and Alec) after 1991's Backdraft. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide
Review
Three of Hearts is a film that doesn't explore homosexuality and its repercussions (like fellow 1990s romantic comedies Chasing Amy and Threesome) as much as it uses them, usually to good effect, as a new hook to a story about how emotionally damaged people find the strength to move beyond limiting relationships. Connie (Kelly Lynch) is devastated when her lover, Ellen (Sherilyn Fenn), ends their relationship, hinting that she finds Connie a bit suffocating. Joe (William Baldwin) is a surprisingly sensitive gigolo who loves the power he has to seduce women, but who leans on his sublimely sinister pimp (Joe Pantoliano) for protection and guidance. The story line that brings Joe to the ladies -- Connie's plot to drive Ellen back to her by hiring Joe to break Ellen's heart -- would feel like a mere Hollywood plot contrivance, but screenplay writers Adam Greenman and Mitch Glazer and director Yurek Bogayevicz knowingly establish the characters' lives and situation. And Kelly Lynch does such a good job playing Connie's alternately comic and tragic desperation at the loss of her lover that the bait-and-switch scam seems an understandable ploy. This isn't a movie loaded with great love scenes or punch lines, but it doesn't need them. Good romantic comedies don't have to be about great loves or laughs to be effective, they just have to give you a sense of an emotional journey completed or a lesson learned. Three of Hearts does that, and that's why it works. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide
Cec Verrell - Allison; Claire Callaway - Isabella; Tony Amendola - Harvey; Annette Benson; Lara Flynn Boyle; Mitchell Group - Elevator Operator; Jill Jaress - Operator; Marek Johnson - Gail; Tawny Kitaen - Woman in Bar; Julie Lott - Nurse; Keith MacKechnie - Frankie; Ken Magee - Operator; Monique Mannen - Daphne; Gloria Gifford Miss - Operator; Ann Ryerson - Woman Auditioning; Lin Shaye - Operator; Penny Perry Davis; Frank Ray Perilli - Patient; Aleksandra Kaniak - Bride; Joshua Grenrock - Photographer; Jan A.P. Kaczmarek
Credit
Douglas Hall - Art Director, Karen Teicher - Associate Producer, Peter Halbert - Boom Operator, George Leong - Boom Operator, Penny Perry - Casting, Annette Benson - Casting, Hannah Hempstead - Co-producer, Barbara Tfank - Costume Designer, Lisa Zimble - First Assistant Director, Yurek Bogayevicz - Director, Dennis M. Hill - Editor, Suzanne Hines - Editor, David Permut - Executive Producer, Frida Aradottir - Hair Styles, Eddy Collyns - Location Manager, Dede Gardner - Location Manager, Jack Kney - Location Manager, Richard Gibbs - Composer (Music Score), Joe Jackson - Composer (Music Score), Mark G. Roswell - Musical Direction/Supervision, Sharon Ilson - Makeup, Michael Levine - Camera Operator, John Sosenko - Camera Operator, C. Gallo - Camera Operator, Josh Medak - Camera Operator, Bob Ragazzine - Camera Operator, Nelson Coates - Production Designer, Andrzej Sekula - Cinematographer, Elliot Lewis Rosenblatt - Production Manager, Matthew Irmas - Producer, Joel B. Michaels - Producer, Guido de Curtis - Set Designer, Linda Sutton - Set Designer, Stephen Halbert - Sound Mixer, William Sarokin - Sound Mixer, Stephen Halbert - Sound/Sound Designer, Eric Norris - Stunts, John Robotham - Stunts, Paul Short - Stunts, Donna Evans - Stunts, Jeff Jensen - Stunts Coordinator, Brenda Goodman - Unit Production Manager, Alysse Bezahler - Unit Production Manager, Adam Greenman - Screen Story, Mitch Glazer - Screenwriter, Alan Sherrod - Additional Cinematography, Charlynne Hopson - Production Assistant, Jason Autajay - Production Assistant, Aron Auspitz - Production Assistant, Stephanie Smith - Production Assistant, David Evans - Sound Effects Editor, Ziad Doueiri - First Assistant Camera, Bill Floyd - First Assistant Camera, Greg McCullough - Gaffer, Robert Sciretta - Gaffer, John Dolan - Grip, Kenneth Fundus - Grip, Jack R. Campbell - Grip, Tony Caldwell - Grip, Dejon Ellis - Grip, James Miller - Grip, Math Miller - Grip, Janusz Sikora - Grip, Billy Miller - Key Grip, Ted Harrison - Key Grip, William B. Kaplan - Music Editor, Candace Cornell - Production Coordinator, Jeanne Joe - Production Coordinator, Livia Perez-Borrero - Production Coordinator, Ann Miller - Properties, Tyler Patton - Properties Master, Barbara A. Kastner - Properties Master, Tim O'Connell - Re-Recording Mixer, Lou Solakofski - Re-Recording Mixer, Don White - Re-Recording Mixer, Dave Appleby - Re-Recording Mixer, Elana Golden - Script Supervisor, Cas Donovan - Second Assistant Director, Rick Raphael - Steadicam Operator, Kyle C. Rudolph - Steadicam Operator, Kimberly Wright - Still Photographer, Michael O'Farrell - Supervising Sound Editor, Sandra K. Kenyon - Costume/Wardrobe, Tommy Goodwin - ADR Mixer, Kelcey Fry - Assistant Hair, Andy Keeter - Assistant Location Manager, Kelcey Fry - Assistant Makeup, Leslie Gaskins - Assistant Production Coordinator, Mark David Katchur - Assistant Production Coordinator, Scott Ratliff - Assistant Properties, Vanick Moradian - Assistant Sound Editor, Mark Meisenheimer - Best Boy Electric, Alan W. Stewart - Best Boy Grip, Megan Day - Casting Assistant, Phillip Fisk Stone III - Construction Coordinator, Jennifer J. Mulhern - Costumes Assistant, Yvonne Cervantes - Costumes Supervisor, Ingrid Price - Costumes Supervisor, Michael Haight - Dialogue Editor, Richard Cadger - Dialogue Editor, Tony Currie - Dialogue Editor, Tom Kerwick - Dolly Grip, Michael Jimenez - Dolly Grip, Roy Price - Electrician, Keith C. Jones - Electrician, Thomas Ford - Electrician, Robert J. McGavin - Electrician, Corwin A. Bibb - Electrician, Robert A. Baumgartner - Electrician, Joey D. Brown - Electrician, Dexter Eneriz - Electrician, William Fricke - Electrician, Fred Johanns - Electrician, Robert Kerian - Electrician, John Massaro - Electrician, Robert Merk - Electrician, Katie Nilson - Electrician, Robert M. Pickering - Electrician, Joseph Sciretta - Electrician, Susan Shopmaker - Extra Casting, Sergio Rodriguez - First Assistant Accountant, Sam Seig - First Assistant Editor, Andy Malcolm - Foley Artist, Michael Whetstone - Leadman, Michael T. Daigle - Lead Scenic Artist, Seth Jerome McKenzie - Post Production Accountant, Elena Azuola - Production Accountant, Peter Nagy - Scenic Artist, Lars P. Winther - Second Second Assistant Director, David Deignan - Set Dresser, Sam F. Huston - Set Dresser, J.T. Thayer - Set Dresser, James M. Harper - Set Dresser, Thomas Conway - Set Dresser, Jude Gorjanc - Set Production Assistant, Amy Schmidt - Set Production Assistant, Marisa Hansell - Set Production Assistant, Todd Marrero - Set Production Assistant, David Martin - Set Production Assistant, Peter Zimble - Set Production Assistant, Brian Maguire - Transportation Captain, Adam Brown - Transportation Captain, William K. Gaskin - Transportation Captain, Brian Steagall - Transportation Coordinator, Ricardo Olivero - Color Timing, John Earl Stone - Construction Foreman, John Acevedo - Craft Service/Catering, Lou Solakofski - Foley Recordist, Gary Burritt - Negative Cutter, Anthony Goldschmidt - Title Design, Anna Czerwatiuk - Art Department Coordinator, William Burns - Assistant Dialogue Editor, Sean Kelly - Assistant Visual Effects Editor, John Laing - Assistant Visual Effects Editor, Daniel Wilson - Carpenter, Peter A. Flynn - Carpenter, Robert M Huffman - Carpenter, Humberto Jimenez - Carpenter, Rutilo Jimenez - Carpenter, Esteban Lascarez - Carpenter, Darryl Keith Lee - Carpenter, Stephen MacDonald - Carpenter, Rick W. Rose - Carpenter, Jeff Wallace - Carpenter
This article is about the 1993 film directed by Yurek Bogayevicz. For the 2004 documentary film directed by Susan Kaplan, see Three of Hearts: A Postmodern Family.
The story involves an unusual love triangle: a straight gigolo (Baldwin), his lesbian best friend (Lynch), and her former lover, an attractive bisexual woman (Fenn).
Lynch is desperate to win Fenn back and Baldwin volunteers to break Fenn's heart to convince her that heterosexual relationships are inferior to lesbian ones. The hope is that the disaster will cause her to return to Lynch. Neither counts on Baldwin having feelings for Fenn nor expects her to discover the trick.
