MovieChat Forums > Three Night Stand (2014) Discussion > Wanted to like, but couldn't

Wanted to like, but couldn't

posted 9 years ago by admiralone73
1 reply | jump to latest

The only takeaway I got from this film was that the milquetoast husband and his kvetching wife should never have married! It was painful to watch them together. It was boring to watch the interaction between the husband and his ex-girlfriend, Robyn. All the dialogue and a brief, pathetic sexual encounter led to nothing being resolved. The introduction of Robyn's estranged husband was pointless. He reminded me of the overly aggressive runt chickenhawk in the Bugs Bunny cartoons. The French/French Canadian mom and son were equally unimportant other than titillating everyone with an inferred lesbian encounter between the cougar and milquetoast's wife, Sue.
The blonde, female coworker and her boyfriend and their banter were the only times I felt the urge to chuckle.
The meeting between milquetoast and Sue, presumably after they divorce, is truly cringeworthy. Who does this? Why subject oneself to the torture of meeting an ex-wife for a coffee? To reinforce what douchey characters they both are? What was the purpose of the flashbacks at the very end? To remind us of how painful it was to be married to Sue? The last words spoken in the film were of a flashback to a dinner table scene earlier in the film where she tells milquetoast to *beep* himself. Or was that directed at the audience?
I've not seen many art-house films, so perhaps the symbolism was lost on me. I just couldn't make myself like this movie, despite a interesting premise.

[–] jpmcnulty 8 years ago

To me the story is all about the husband Carl- He's too busy in his own head / past to enjoy the present.

The way he picked on his wife (wine/cheese/sweater) was a combination of him wanting her to be someone else and him just not happy. Which leads to her falling out of love with him and destroys their relationship.

Once everything in the way of him getting back with his ex is removed - he can finally realize that he doesn't actually want her.

The end flashbacks represent him realizing or coming to terms that most his good memories are with his wife, and that he actually loved being with her. As far as the last "F you" memory... Maybe seeing her stand up for herself (he was patronizing her) is attractive to him, was to me.

Mixed feeling about the ending, but in my mind they probably get back together, maybe after a time of separation. I think his ex (Robyn) also would work it out with her husband - She seemed to love him but had her own hangups about Carl - Which I think was removed for her also when they try to sleep together.

I thought it was enjoyable. While I agree the friend and her husband along with the french actor and his mom didn't add much to the development of the relationships I thought they were entertaining on their own.

I do wish the breakthrough they had when they tried to sleep together was a bit more.. than just a turn on/sex thing? I can see why you say nothing was resolved, but maybe it was enough?