Threesome (1994)

Directed by Andrew Fleming. Starring Josh Charles, Stephen Baldwin, Lara Flynn Boyle, Alexis Arquette, Martha Gehman, Mark Arnold. [R]

Frustratingly pedestrian, shallow stab at being provocative and meaningful. Like a basic cable drama upgraded to the big screen, the contrived setup has two male college roommates (Charles, Baldwin) sharing their dorm suite with a young woman (Boyle) due to an administrative error, and the tensions in their situation only get thicker when a “true” love triangle develops—gay Charles lusts for Baldwin, Baldwin wants Boyle, and Boyle is attracted to Charles; as suggested by the title, they break that tension with a ménage à duh, which isn’t a great idea. Sort of like Jules et Jim by way of Chasing Amy, but without tenderness, insight or wit; writer/director Fleming seems to think that being frank and vulgar qualifies as raw honesty, but it merely verifies the immaturity of these characters, especially Baldwin’s conventional “bro”-type. The leads are all adequate, but it’s not enough to save their fusty predicament or the insufferable characters they play, and it’s pretty tacky the way that homosexuality is tiptoed around and treated with the same solemnity as a kitschy souvenir. Skip the rental, buy the soundtrack instead.

34/100