‘My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend’ is not your typical romantic comedy
My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend may be the most unusual romantic comedy in years, perhaps ever. Not focused on sex, profanity, special effects or a lot of silly situations, it is focused entirely on the couples. Yes, that’s couples – plural. Jesse Young, played by Alyssa Milano (Charmed), has two boyfriends. After a serious drought in her love life, she now has two very different men stealing her heart.
Unlike similar situations played out in movies, she isn’t hiding under tables to keep them from finding out about each other. The story is not even really about her double life, but about something deeply personal. As fun as it would be to spoil the ending, which is about as mind-boggling as the end of The Sixth Sense, I would hate to ruin it for viewers.
A very enjoyable actor, Christopher Gorham (Covert Affairs, The Other Side Of Heaven), plays Ethan Reed. Ethan is a novel writer who has found his work to be unpublishable. Frustrated with having his latest novel rejected and being told to give up writing, he finds himself rather surprised by the advances of Jesse, a beautiful coffee shop waitress. They have the perfect first date.
A few seconds after Ethan gets Jesse’s phone number, she meets Troy Parker and things hit off with him just as quickly. Michael Landes (Material Girl) plays Troy, the second boyfriend. Rather opposite of Ethan, he writes advertising in a successful company he started and, unlike awkward Ethan, Troy is a smooth talker.
He may be able to lavish Jesse with much more extravagant dates and gifts than Ethan can, but Ethan is great around kids and the kind of guy a girl settles down with. Troy seems great on the surface, but there’s a sense that he must be hiding an agenda. He may have money, but Jesse has more respect for novel writing than advertising. Unable to make a choice, she gets away with having both of them as her boyfriends, at least until they both want things to get serious.
There are a few slow spots, but the story has true heart and feels very real. The film fits neatly in the “chick flick” category. Although not laugh-out-loud funny, the film does have humorous moments. Many of these are played by Tom Lenk, (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) who portrays Jesse’s brother, unhappily famous for his embarrassing TV commercials.
There are some sweet and cheesy situations, as one would expect, but there is still a very different tone to the movie than in most other romantic comedies. Both Milano and Gorham can act with real feeling that makes any script an enjoyable experience.
Filmed in Utah, there is local scenery and some local faces such as Scott Christopher and Gavin Bentley. Appearances are also made by prominent actors Carol Kane and Beau Bridges. Rick McFarland and Alyssa Milano produced the film. This movie is rated PG. If you enjoy romantic comedies with real heart, it is definitely worth seeing.
