The Threesome (2025)
Directed by: Chad Hartigan
Premise: Two women and a man (Zoey Deutch, Ruby Cruz, and Jonah Hauer-King) have a spontaneous menage a trois. Following their tryst, both women discover they are pregnant.
What Works: As its title implies, The Threesome focuses on three characters whose lives are intertwined after a night of passion. Connor and Oliva have a preexisting on-again-off-again relationship and they meet Jenny in a chance encounter. Afterward, both women realize they are pregnant and intend to keep their babies. The scenario smartly dramatizes the collision of sexual liberation with the realities of impending family life and the responsibilities and commitments this entails. Connor tries to be a partner to both women but any hope of keeping things strictly rational or practical are dashed by the inevitability of emotional commitments. The filmmakers dramatize that conflict with nuance and sensitivity. Matters are complicated by Jenny’s conservative family. Jenny keeps her parents in the dark about the other woman while passing off Conner as her fiancé. This subplot is rooted in stereotypes about protective fathers and shotgun weddings but there is an earnest quality to Jenny’s relationship with her parents, her fear of disappointing them, and her own struggle to reconcile her values with her actions. The performances of actors Jonah Hauer-King, Zoey Deutch, and Ruby Cruz are very good. They keep us liking the characters even as they make frustrating choices. The scenario offers the characters few good options and The Threesome finds humor in the conceit. Deutch in particular delivers the glib dialogue with cutting exasperation.
What Doesn’t: The title The Threesome suggests that this is going to be a crass comedy like popular films of twenty years ago such as The Hangover, Old School, and The 40 Year-Old Virgin. This is not that kind of film. That turns out to be to its credit—the filmmakers give us something better—but some viewers may not appreciate the bait and switch. The story of The Threesome rests on a few big coincidences. Beyond the initial conceit, family events and medical commitments keep happening on top of one another in a way that sometimes feels contrived. That’s especially true in the ending. Conner and Jenny’s half of the story is complicated because Jenny refuses to tell her family the truth. It’s the kind of conflict that could be resolved if the characters would just talk to each other. In this case the conceit has a credible context but it is also frustrating.
Bottom Line: The Threesome mixes drama and comedy in a way that recalls Juno and Waitress. The racy premise belies a sweet and earnest movie that thoughtfully deals with matters of sexuality, family, and identity.
Episode: #1063 (September 7, 2025)