A One Mann’s Movies review of “Your Place or Mine” (2023).
Sorry, but as a signed up member of the apostrophe police, I sooooo want to stick a question mark on the end of that title! So zero stars for punctuation, but “Your Place or Mine” doesn’t score much better overall.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Debbie Dunn (Reese Witherspoon) and Peter Coleman (Ashton Kutcher) had one night of great sex in their teens but have since been nothing but good friends. Now, 20 years later, the pair need to swap homes, between New York and LA, for a week giving them each a new perspective on their lives.
Certification:
UK: 12; US: 12. (From the BBFC: “Sex references, language”).
Talent:
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Ashton Kutcher, Zoe Chao, Jesse Williams, Tig Notaro, Steve Zahn, Wesley Kimmel.
Directed by: Aline Brosh McKenna.
Written by: Aline Brosh McKenna.
Twitter Handle: #YourPlaceOrMine
An example of the split screen technique. Pillow talk but 2800 miles apart. Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher. (Source: Netflix).
“Your Place or Mine” Review:
Positives:
- The film starts quite promisingly with a question – “It’s 2003… How can we tell?” – before using on-screen labels to point out all the idiosyncrasies of the era. This includes Debbie having to peel off three separate thin layers to get to second base territory! My hopes were raised for something both funny and quirky.
- Reece Witherspoon is a class act for this type of film: she’s never less than cute and engaging when she’s on the screen.
- The film uses split-screen techniques in a similar way to “Sleepless in Seatle”. It’s quite effective, especially the initial ‘three-in-a-bed’ usage, but becomes a little more obvious and tired later in the film (e.g. the bath scene!).
Negatives:
- The script thinks it’s far cleverer than it really is. I’m afraid, overall, I found it to be bland and unfunny.
- The story seems to be trying to blend the ‘long term friendship’ of “My Best Friend’s Wedding” with the location swap of “The Holiday” without adding the humour or charm of either. (The similarity with “The Holiday” isn’t helped by Debbie’s love interest, played by Jesse Williams, looking the spit of Jude Law).
- The kooky neighbour/gardener, played by Steve Zahn, is clearly supposed to be hilarious but just comes across as seriously creepy. He’s like the lovelorn simpleton that Barry Keoghan did so much better in “The Banshees of Inisherin”.
Summary Thoughts on “Your Place or Mine”
As a Rom-com it’s largely inoffensive and might satisfy those with a romantic bent who want to see how it ends (as if you didn’t already know!). But I found it bland and lacking in the ‘com’ aspect. Reece Witherspoon deserves better material than this.
“Your Place or Mine” is written and directed by Aline Brosh McKenna (who I only know from writing the story for “Cruella“). It’s available to stream on Netflix.
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Trailer for “Your Place or Mine”
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JyfgkPMXk0 .
