MPAA: R.
Release Date: 09/05/25 [Cinemas]
Genre: Comedy. Drama. Romance.

Studio: Vertical Entertainment. 

THE PREMISE:

"A young man's perennial crush leads him into an unexpected threesome, he thinks it's his ultimate fantasy come true. When the fantasy ends, all three are left with sobering real-world consequences, to take responsibility for their actions." 

OUR MOVIE REVIEW:

“Some stories you tell, and some you don't.” That’s what an older Ted Mosby says in the third episode of the third season of How I Met Your Mother. Fittingly titled “The Third Wheel,” it follows the character as he recalls having a potential threesome with two women. Now, spoiler alert if you’ve never seen the show (or this particular episode), but the audience never finds out what Ted does with the women. And it doesn’t matter to the overall plot of the show because (spoiler alert again) Ted continues to live as a bachelor for the next six and half seasons. 

Where most romantic comedies and dramas have explored the two-sided nature of relationships, this particular episode is a bright spot because it shows how sometimes a relationship naturally has more than one person (exes, co-parents, children, etc.) - a theme the show would expand upon in future seasons. It’s a concept that may have been ahead of its time then, but feels fully realized in director Chad Hartigan latest feature film, The Threesome. 

Ironically, as the title suggests, the story also revolves around a sexual encounter between a man and two women. However, it takes things a step further by not only exploring what happens in the aftermath of such an event, but what happens when both women end up pregnant. Ethan Ogilby’s script may sound like a statistician’s worst nightmare (because what are the odds of such a thing happening in real life?) yet it plays like an episode of Friends where no matter how ridiculous things seem,  each character knows how to articulate how they feel as they push for the best possible outcome. And it’s quite moving considering that not every relationship is amicable here. 

Jonah Hauer-King stars as Connor, the man literally caught between two women. Zoey Deutch plays his crush Olivia, an ex-coworker who he hooked up with a long time ago and believes may be the one. And Ruby Cruz plays Jenny, a young, naive and religious girl whose decision to let loose for one night tests her faith. When we first meet Olivia, she wants nothing to do with Connor. In fact, she is in the middle of trying to break off a relationship with a married man. Her life is a mess because she likes to live in the moment. In an attempt to make the aforementioned married man jealous, she hijacks Connor’s meet-cute with Jenny, and orchestrates the titular sexual encounter. 

Shortly after the threesome, long after Jenny has gone home, Connor expresses how he feels to Olivia. As reluctant as she is to start a new relationship, she begins dating him. For weeks, things go much better than she expects. And when both she and Connor find out she is expecting, for the first time she is open to the possibility of thinking beyond the present. But that joy is short-lived after Jenny arrives on Connor’s doorstep with similar news.

Olivia immediately shuts back down. And after being rejected by both Connor and Olivia, Jenny decides to deal with the pregnancy alone. For the duration of the story, the title is twisted on its head, as it deviates from that fateful night and begins to focus more on the trio’s relationship with one another. 

The film is a bittersweet blend of serious and humorous, though it still feels foreign to both the rom-com and dramedy genres. Despite its outrageous premise, the story feels incredibly grounded. This is all due to Hartigan’s ability to translate empathy so well. The film could have easily been shot as an over-the-top comedy, dark drama, or passionate romance film. Yet he handles the story with such emotional intelligence that you end up witnessing the best genre of all: humanity. Over the course of its nearly two-hour runtime, life unfolds before you complete with all its complexities. Some are funny. Some are sad. All are something to learn from.

Hauer-King really commands the screen in one of his first major leading roles since The Little Mermaid. Ruby Cruz continues to build on the momentum and character-acting skills she’s shown in Willow and Bottoms, but Deutch is easily the film’s stand out as Olivia. At first glance, she feels like another morally grey character for Deutch to devour, but the more you get to know her the more you truly understand that she wants love more than anyone else. She has just never been loved properly and worries she can’t give it back. Her arc is truly transformational. While you would expect the film to use her relationship with Connor to demonstrate her character’s growth, it’s instead shown through her interactions with Jenny. Their final interaction in particular assures the audience the three will be okay, even if it doesn’t look or feel that way.

Another stand-out is Jaboukie Young-White, who plays Connor's best friend and the one who sets him up with Jenny. His role may be small, but he steals every scene he’s in. It’s the kind of performance that will win everybody over, even if you aren’t a fan of the film.

That’s not to say the film won’t work for everyone, but there are parts that admittedly will turn people off. For starters, the film does relish in Connor’s uncertainty for a bit too long. Despite wanting Olivia, after she briefly leaves him, he goes back and forth with whether he should be Jenny.  Then when Olivia shows back up, he finds himself at a crossroad again. The back-and-forth is totally understandable. However, it feels just as frustrating and futile as the great “Team Edward” or “Team Jacob” debate of the early oughts. Additionally, there are a few technicalities the script throws the audience’s way about the initial sexual encounter that feel over-emphasized - until you get to the third act and you realize Ogilby and Hartigan were just trying to prepare you for a little twist.

“Some stories you tell, and some you don't.” For most, The Threesome might feel like the kind of story not meant to be told on the big screen. However, after you see it, you understand exactly why it needed to be told. Sex and pregnancy aside, it’s a modern fable about human connection. It’s also a story about how hard it can be to find common ground - especially with those who you’ve already been vulnerable with. Above all, it shatters the idea that happiness can only ever be shared by two people and shows us how much better it can be when we don’t put limits on love.