Leslye Headland
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Filmography
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The performers do their best and there are some scenes that work but the overall piece is remarkably forgettable, reminding viewers of “Bridesmaids” and “The Hangover” while failing to match either in terms of laughs.
The panic to get the dress to the wedding on time is reminiscent of The Hangover and the mad dash to get the groom-to-be home from Vegas (think humor akin to the road-side tuxedo change).
Bachelorette belongs in the same category of raunchy adult comedies as The Hangover and Bridesmaids , and while it's plenty funny, it's also perhaps the one film in the bunch that also seems realistic.
While following the format of recent pre-wedding disaster films such as Bridesmaids (Paul Feig, 2011) and The Hangover (Todd Phillips, 2009), Bachelorette is possibly better thought of as a darker and more painful spin on films such as Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (David Mirkin, 1997).
When the media labeled 2011's alternately hilarious, heartfelt " Bridesmaids " as a female version of 2009's " The Hangover ," it came as a lazy and sexist retort that insulted just how very good the Kristen Wiig-starring " Bridesmaids " was while giving the rancid, mean-spirited raunchfest that was " The Hangover " far more credit than it deserved.
Here's filmmakers' recipe: take elements from two popular movies (in this case, The Hangover and Bridemaids ), make the protagonists the most unbearable shrews imaginable, suck out anything that might be mistaken for humor, and throw lots of money at a few "name" actresses willing to sell their souls for the cause of replenishing their bank accounts.
So over the course of the night, the women indulge in drugs, alcohol, and sex (though not a lot of food, strangely, despite the proliferation of weed), through a plot that recalls the "into the night" genre of the 1980s, including films like After Hours, Something Wild, and, um, Into the Night.
This section is almost a female answer to the similarly crazed odyssey of Martin Scorsese’s After Hours.
"Bachelorette" is kind of like "Mean Girls" crossed with "After Hours" if overt funny was replaced with character insights.
…setup, nor is it the farcical “After Hours”-esque plot that ensues after the coked-up Regan and Katie accidentally destroy Becky’s wedding dress and have to get it replaced or restored before morning.
When the three women accidentally rip the bride's gown while using it as a prop for a vicious Facebook photo, "Bachelorette" becomes a sort of "After Hours" tour of the decadent city, as the friends frantically search for a way to repair or replace the dress before the wedding the next morning.
The Pick-up Artist (1987)
Directed by James Toback
influenced Sleeping with Other People (2015)
Characters
Master cocksman Jake (Jason Sudeikis), a fast-talker in the mold of the master cocksman played by Robert Downey Jr. in The Pick-Up Artist, peppers his speech with references to Aaron Sorkin and "Game of Thrones" and Wes Anderson and Malcolm Gladwell because he's totally hip.
Headland is clearly trying to channel the spirit of John Hughes (perhaps a coked-up and promiscuous John Hughes), but her discursive, self-involved, shamelessly New Yorky characters also suggest the films of Whit Stillman (“Metropolitan” and “The Last Days of Disco”).
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Directed by Michel Gondry
influenced Bachelorette (2012)
Visuals
His work with Björk, in particular, in videos like “Bachelorette,” “Human Behaviour” and “Isobel,” have an unearthly, quivering quality reminiscent of the early days of filmmaking, the kind of thing Georges Méliès might have done if he were working today.
The last time writer and director Leslye Headland premiered a film at Sundance, it was 2012’s “Bachelorette,” a raunchy twist on the “girls just wanna have fun” subgenre of comedy, and one that might have arrived just a touch too soon after the box office juggernaut that was “Bridesmaids” (in a strange twist, Paul Feig’s feel-good comedy hit was nominated for two Oscars the morning after “Bachelorette” premiered at the festival).
Still, writer-director Leslye Headland keeps things at a foul-mouthed boil, restraining the harsher impulses that made her 2012 Bridesmaids rip-off, Bachelorette, even less popular than They Came Together.
She made Bachelorette in 2012, which came out a year after Bridesmaids and occupied similar territory, without success.
Headland's first feature, "Bachelorette," was released in the wake of "Bridesmaids," and "Sleeping with Other People" springs from the same verbally explicit, sex-positive loins.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: I Want You Back might bring to mind flicks like Set It Up , Crazy, Stupid, Love , Sleeping with Other People , and Plus One .
It’s the Judd Apatow formula all over again, only here, the memorable scenes are few (Jenny Slate singing and a surprise Pete Davidson appearance are about it), and as a result of the formula being so well-worn by now, there’s already far better examples of it out there ( Sleeping With Other People comes to mind, with its similarly-unprepared-for-a-relationship leads).
And much like Cody's script for Juno that has references to Soupy Sales flying from the mouths of babes, this gem has a college girl in 2002 warning a prospective beau not to reference The Graduate on learning that her name is "Elaine" when, you know, "Seinfeld".
(Lest we somehow not pick up on Headland’s Reiner affinity, there’s also a scene with the pseudo couple lounging on the sofa, watching another of the director’s biggies, “Misery.”)
In Headland’s world, every moment seems skillfully crafted, so that even an offhanded gag about the movie Misery evolves into a touching pay off.
When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
Directed by Rob Reiner
influenced Sleeping with Other People (2015)
Plot
Leslye Headland's Sleeping With Other People is a Photoshop copy of When Harry Met Sally... clone-stamped and saturated.
Friends with Benefits (2011)
Directed by Will Gluck
influenced Sleeping with Other People (2015)
Plot
Everything in this hoax is a cliché inspired by a dozen other B-movies about the same subject, from No Strings Attached with Ashton Kutcher to Friends with Benefits with Justin Timberlake.
No Strings Attached (2011)
Directed by Ivan Reitman
influenced Sleeping with Other People (2015)
Plot
Everything in this hoax is a cliché inspired by a dozen other B-movies about the same subject, from No Strings Attached with Ashton Kutcher to Friends with Benefits with Justin Timberlake.
Thanks for Sharing (2013)
Directed by Stuart Blumberg
influenced Sleeping with Other People (2015)
Plot
The notion of sex addicts falling in love is a promising one for a romantic comedy—so promising, in fact, that another, far better movie, 2013’s Thanks for Sharing already beat Headland to it.
(It’s to When Harry Met Sally what When Harry Met Sally was to Annie Hall.)
The ingratiating supporting cast includes Rene Russo (2013's " Thor: The Dark World ") as in-house masseuse (and Ben's possible love interest) Fiona; Anders Holm (TV's "Workaholics") as Jules' husband Matt; Andrew Rannells (2012's " Bachelorette ") as close colleague Cameron; Zack Pearlman (2010's " The Virginity Hit ") as younger intern Davis, and very funny newcomer Christina Scherer as Jules' increasingly harried assistant Becky.
They Came Together (2014)
Directed by David Wain
influenced Sleeping with Other People (2015)
Themes
Writer-director Leslye Headland's Sleeping with Other People is exactly the kind of movie at which David Wain took aim with his sublime rom-com parody They Came Together .
If you want a raunchy will-they-won’t-they rom-com in which two attractive people try to keep their relationship platonic, I’d suggest avoiding “Holidate” and watching Lesley Headland’s “Sleeping With Other People” instead.
Headland doesn’t play these tricks up too often, however, and it’s a relief that no one ever feels the need to stop someone from getting on an airplane in some last ditch effort to prove their love (sorry, “Love, Actually,” but come on).
Films like Your Sister’s Sister , Obvious Child, Top Five, and Sleeping With Other People brought nuance and bite to familiar romantic formulas .
Netflix’s new movie Set It Up is being touted as the return of the rom-com, though it’s not like we’ve really been suffering from a dearth (see: How to Be Single , Sleeping With Other People , Home Again , Trainwreck and several others in the past few years).