Main Cast: Lara Flynn Boyle, Stephen Baldwin, Josh Charles, Alexis Arquette, Martha Gehman
Release Year: 1994
Country: US
Run Time: 93 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Well-groomed junior transfer student Eddy (Josh Charles) forges an unlikely friendship with messy party animal Stuart (Stephen Baldwin) after the two room together in an all-male dorm at a large university. When Alex (Lara Flynn Boyle) ends up in the adjoining suite because of her mannish name, all three students fall into an overheated friendship that provides cover for no less than three unrequited loves. Alex, a sexpot who's turned on by big words, falls hard for intellectual Eddy, who's actually pining away for the ripped, oversexed Stuart, who's got the hots for Alex. As the three friends try unsuccessfully to alleviate their collective sexual and romantic tension, dorm-desk workers Dick (Alexis Arquette) and Renay (Martha Gehman) become convinced that there's something kinky going on -- and they may just be right. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Review
Of the two early '90s ménage à trois flicks each starring a Baldwin brother and a Twin Peaks babe, Threesome is the messier and more unpredictable effort. This college-age comedy features enjoyably reptilian Stephen Baldwin and likably brittle Lara Flynn Boyle alongside boy-next-door Josh Charles as a trio of co-ed dorm suitemates. Although the dialogue is sometimes wooden, Charles' narrative voiceover is rather ponderous, and writer/director Andrew Fleming relies on too many montages to tell his meandering story, Threesome nonetheless captures both the everything-matters intensity and the sexual confusion of its characters. Part coming-of-age story, part unorthodox romance, it's also one of the few films to successfully portray the tangled emotions and hormonal urges that sometimes lead kids, both gay and straight, to step away from the sexual roles they've been assigned. The scenario, straight girl loves closeted gay guy loves straight guy loves straight girl, sounds like a setup for titillating tedium, but the script acknowledges this danger via a pair of voyeuristic supporting parts played with dead-on comedic timing by Alexis Arquette and Martha Gehman. Yet in the end, even as Baldwin's character spouts such lines like "For me, sex is like pizza; even if it's bad, it's pretty good," the protagonists' three-way love affair is sweeter and less exploitative than the scheming romances in your typical Meg Ryan or Julia Roberts vehicle. If the film ultimately shies away from actually depicting the gay element of the equation (and feels the need to play Arquette's openly queer character for a few cheap laughs), Threesome is still pretty adventurous for a major studio flick and, quibbles aside, it respects all three of its protagonists' lifestyles. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Mark Arnold - Larry; Michele Matheson - Kristen; Joanne Baron - Curt Woman; Robyn Ray; Ed Mitchell
Credit
Ken M. Larson - Art Director, David Stein - Associate Producer, Huckleberry Caton - Boom Operator, Robyn Ray - Casting, Ed Mitchell - Casting, Brad Jenkel - Co-producer, Deborah Everton - Costume Designer, Jack Breschard - First Assistant Director, Richard J. Levin - First Assistant Director, Andrew Fleming - Director, William Carruth - Editor, Cary Woods - Executive Producer, Clare M. Corsick - Hair Styles, Tracie Graham-Rice - Line Producer, Thomas Newman - Composer (Music Score), Simon Le Bon - Songwriter, Nick Rhodes - Songwriter, Roger Taylor - Songwriter, Patty York - Makeup, Ivo Cristante - Production Designer, Alexander Gruszynski - Cinematographer, Steven Stabler - Producer, Brad Krevoy - Producer, Robert N. Fried - Producer, Tim Colohan - Set Designer, Giovanni Di Simone - Sound Mixer, Norval D. Crutcher Jr. - Sound Editor, Norval D. Crutcher III - Sound Editor, Frank Fleming - Sound Recordist, B.J. Davis - Stunts Coordinator, Tracie Graham-Rice - Unit Production Manager, Andrew Fleming - Screenwriter, Lili Ungar - Unit Publicist, Ralph Sall - Executive Music Producer, David Garden - First Assistant Camera, Kate Butler - First Assistant Camera, Larry Kaster - Gaffer, Craig Heffern - Key Grip, Bill Bernstein - Music Editor, Andy Taylor - Musical Performer, Richard K. Wright - Properties Master, Martin Kitrosser - Script Supervisor, Kate Morrison - Script Supervisor, Bruce Alan Greene - Steadicam Operator, Abe Perlstein - Still Photographer, Brenna Gibson - Costume/Wardrobe, Frank Rosen - Assistant Properties, Tom Dailey - First Assistant Editor, Randall M. Boyd - Leadman, Bernice Moschini - Production Accountant, Eric London - Set Dresser, Raymond Consing - Storyboard Artist
