Mutual Friends

Talk about romantic entanglements! After expert use of split- and multi-screen images during the title sequence, Director Matthew Watts skillfully manipulates us through a maze of young adults; to his credit, we are never confused. This film, submitted by the USA to the 2013 Seattle International Film Festival, kept us interested from the very beginning. We become acquainted with a variety of men and women, their assorted lives, and some of their issues. A big surprise birthday party is planned for that evening.

We see:

• Caitlin FitzGerald ("It's Complicated") is Liv, after six years with the wrong guy, she's finally on track. She's invited a bunch of mutual friends over for a birthday party.
• Cheyenne Jackson ("Price Check") is her fiance Christoph, the attorney who is celebrating his birthday. Wait until you get a look at that cake!
• Jennifer Lafleur ("The Do-Deca-Pentathlon") invites herself to that party, she has issues....
• Ross Partridge ("How to Make It in America") his wealthy Sammy has more grown-up issues than most of these folks but his chauffeur is full of good advice.
• Michael Stahl-David (Lots of TV) has just learned he's to be a father, so he's in a bit of a muddle.
• Christina Cole ("Casino Royale") is expecting, but what happens at the party is unexpected.
• Peter Scanavino ("Happythankyoumoreplease") is the founder of the "No Strings" revolution. Now maybe those strings don't look so bad after all....

I could go on and on, because there are many more distinctive personalities, each of whom adds to the character-driven humor. It looks like this was written by a committee, but the end result turned out just fine. We liked it.

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No trailer yet:
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