There are many sub-genres to the mainstream comedy films
that have been made. One of those I like to call the familiar-comedy. These are
movies where you pretty much know ahead of time what the outcomes is going to
be, a film filled with moments that feel as if you’ve seen them played out
before in different settings but that leave you with that warm familiar
feeling. PLUS ONE is that type of movie.
Alice (Maya Erskine) and Ben (Jack Quaid) are two best
friends who are watching as all of their peers are getting married. It seems as
if this is the season and more than usual are doing so. Friends since college
they bemoan their situations with Jack not finding Miss Right and Alice
recently having been dumped by her boyfriend. They come to an agreement to
attend the weddings they’ve been invited to as a couple, each being the other’s
plus one, and at the same time trying to find someone to match up with the
other.
All doesn’t quite go according to plan though. At the first
wedding they attend Alice gets tremendously drunk and needs sent back to their
hotel. Ben finds the woman he always wished he’d had the courage to ask out
only to find that she’s now engaged. His night ends in failure to as well as
holding the bucket for Alice when she gets sick.
The pair have conversations back and forth about what
they’re looking for and what they expect. All along as viewers we wonder why
they haven’t realized that they’re right for each other. That’s the first
familiar point this movie has. Eventually they realize this and the trips to
each wedding change from seeking someone to realizing you have someone.
Which of course leads to familiar plot point two which is
one of them messing up the situation by thinking too hard about it. In this case
that’s Ben. Too caught up in that search for the perfect woman, that long
sought after dream goddess that he thought would one day appear, he doesn’t
realize that she might be the woman he’s with. Which leads to a breakup.
And that leads to familiar plot point number three which is
the awkward moment that they meet again and begin to wonder if they were indeed
meant for each other. But by this time Alice has reunited with the guy who
dumped her and Ben realizes what he lost. Will the pair find a way to overcome
these obstacles or will they end up going their separate ways? Honestly this is
the only point where the familiar can actually veer off into one of two paths
that are both familiar. See how this works?
In movies like this it’s not the plot that moves the story
forward since we’re already familiar with it. For the most part we already know
the ending of the film. It is in how that story is laid out before us that
makes the movie either a good one or a bad one. Fortunately this one is a good
one.
Both leads here are charming in their performances making
them believable characters. Alice is not some saccharin sweet young thing that
men pine over but a real woman that matches Ben in his goofy as well as sweet
moments. Ben is a nice guy who has dreams and almost allows them to take over
reality like many guys do. Their portrayals by Erskine and Quaid make them real
and we find ourselves caring for both.
I’d read some bad reviews about this film before watching
it, most noting the over excessive use of four letter words but I honestly
didn’t find that to be the case, at least not enough that I noticed it. And for
a movie about this topic most films include tons of scantily clad
actors/actresses or some love scene that requires the leads to have sex in front
of a fireplace. Neither make up this movie. While not rated it would most
likely garner an R rating for the language but perhaps a PG-13 might be in
order depending on who was counting words at the MPAA that week.
In the end the movie is indeed entertaining and enjoyable
with a nice story, a romantic comedy that is, well, familiar. But there’s
nothing wrong with that. Sometimes you just want to feel that comfortable
feeling and this movie just might be the one to do it for you.
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