Matialth
Good concept, poorly executed.
MoPoshy
Absolutely brilliant
Sameer Callahan
It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
Kamila Bell
This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
TxMike
We found this movie, apparently only shown at film festivals, on Netflix streaming. My wife and I both enjoyed it, while it has many funny elements it comes across as very true to life. Set and filmed in Minneapolis. Leighton Meester is Sasha, a Lesbian seemingly caught up in a series of dead-end shallow relationships. She has been working in different receptionist jobs for about 8 years while she figures out where her musical career should go. Her right brain rules her life.Gillian Jacobs is Paige, Sasha's close friend for many years. She is not a Lesbian and has a job as a high-powered attorney. Her left brain rules her life. But she and Sasha get on like best friends should.Things start to change when Paige gets fixed up with a date, Adam Brody (Meester's real-life husband) as Tim, a dermatologist. Tim is a nice guy but prefers slogan T-shirts and has a few other quirks which Paige gets to work on. She pretty much molds him into exactly what she wants. While he cooperates eventually it comes to a head and friction results.The core of the story however is how this man causes the old friendship to crumble. It is never presented as a dastardly thing, just the inevitable result of two close friends moving apart as new life situations arise.My favorite scene was when Paige and Tim are out at a park, he casually mentions "this thing on my back" that needs to be looked at. Paige gets worried, is it a cancerous mole, she insists he raise his shirt so she can look at it. Then she finds written on his back in large letters "Will you marry me?" Things all work out well in the end, Paige and Tim seem very suited for each other and Sasha reexamines her goals and makes adjustments. All the actors are fine.
Aktham Tashtush
The comedy was spot on, and the romance was not overused as many Rom- Com have become lately, brought on the surface the lesbians part of romance yet not too much involved which was really great producing, the casting was also successful, characters we'v seen on TV and some in a few movies and still managed to look fresh and new even for Gillian Jacobs and Gabourey Sidibe. i would'v make it more twisty and knot the plot a little more but the story still got out great the way it is. and as i said it was Good story, peaked and grow properly and it nicely ended . so bravo for the cast and Susanna Fogel for a good directing and writing ;)
themaninthealley
Leighton Meester has never given a better performance. She is really, really good in Life Partners. Gillian Jacobs has never given a better performance. She is really, really good in Life Partners. They are funny, sweet, deep, lovely and have wondrous, effortless chemistry; you believe immediately that they are the best of friends. It works so well that I wish the film had been about their characters' relationship. You could call if Life Partners...Unfortunately, while this film _is_ called Life Partners, that's not what it's about. It's about one huge fight and their personal lives and how much they suck at leading them. And for the most part it is terribly unfunny. From ten minutes in to one minute until the credits roll, these two are at odds with one another. From mild annoyance to a building sense of angst to complete avoidance, the film does everything it can to let you know in big neon letters that 'THERE BE PROBLEMS'. Paige is controlling, Sasha is coasting through life. Fine. We get it, movie. Except while most relationship comedies give you moments of reprieve where we remember why the two are such good friends and we get to laugh with them, Life Partners just keeps on flashing 'THERE BE PROBLEMS' every time it seems like a laugh is coming along.The two spend the majority of their time on screen apart. Sasha, a lesbian pining for a better job and a better quality of girlfriend, spends most of her time at work as a desk jockey or with her lesbian friends (one of whom is Gabourey Sidibe, proving for the umpteenth time that she's more than just a teen running with chicken). Paige, meanwhile, goes through the film dealing with the fallout from a minor fender-bender and falling in love with her new boyfriend (Adam Brody, who has always been fantastic at playing Adam Brody and continues to be likable as Adam Brody). You see, Sasha and Paige are best friends, but because of Paige's new love life and Sasha's frustration at the loss of time with her friend 'THERE BE PROBLEMS,' so we barely get to see either woman smile.The film runs its course with nary a twist or a turn and you wind up exactly where you'd expect, and while both women are truly delightful in their roles, damn if this story doesn't suck all of the life and joy from the predictable proceedings. I'm also very frustrated that a comedic talent as awesome as Julie White has been relegated to playing the wacky mom for the last ten years, but she is still very entertaining as Paige's wacky mom.Given the stellar performances from its leads, I really wanted to love this film. I just can't. It's never dull or stupid or mean, none of the awkward, cringe-worthy stuff gets drawn out beyond the point of respectability and the film looks good, with slick direction and cheerful settings. It's just not funny.6/10. All six stars go to the performances of the leads. Everything else is horribly average.
Red-125
Life Partners (2014) was directed by Susanna Fogel. Sasha--Leighton Meester--is best friends with Paige--Gillian Jacobs. Sasha is a lesbian, and Paige is straight. Neither of them has a problem with this--there's no romantic interest, but lots of love.Enter Tim--Adam Brody--who falls in love with Paige. (There's a movie in-joke here, because in real life, Brody is married to Meester.). Tim and Paige are engaged, and living together. The movie takes a strange turn at this point, when Paige backs into a neighbor's car. She refuses to take responsibility, which bothers Tim. This theme apparently was required to fill out a 95-minute movie. The whole business was trivial.The real theme, in my opinion, was the inevitable break between Sasha and Paige. The theme of female friendship being broken when men become involved is old--think of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. It may be old, but it still resonates. I think that's what this movie really was about. It's certainly a theme worth exploring.We saw this film at the Dryden Theatre as part of the well-chosen offerings of ImageOut, the Rochester LGBT Film Festival. It will work well on DVD.