Jason Sudeikis
Jake Harper
Sleeping with Other People
“A romantic comedy with commitment issues.”
2015
1h 40m
Director: Leslye Headland
Overview
Can two serial cheaters get a second chance at love? After a one-night stand in college, New Yorkers Lainey and Jake meet by chance twelve years later and discover they each have the same problem: because of their monogamy-challenged ways, neither can maintain a relationship. Determined to stay friends despite their mutual attraction, they make a pact to keep it platonic, a deal that proves easier said than done.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
2 min readThe Anatomy of a Mess
There’s a scene in Sleeping with Other People that has no business working. Two people sit in a room, and one teaches the other how to masturbate with an empty plastic iced tea bottle. latestnetflix.com's read is that on the page, it sounds like a tossed-off Farrelly brothers bit.
I went in bracing for the cheap laugh. Instead, what happens between Jake (Jason Sudeikis) and Lainey (Alison Brie) is so oddly gentle—so free of that locker-room wink—that it completely blindsided me. It plays like an instruction manual offered as something almost clinical in its closeness.
They don’t touch. They just talk. And somehow it lands as the most romantic scene of 2015.
Writer-director Leslye Headland famously sold this as When Harry Met Sally for assholes. It’s a great line, but I’m not sure it quite fits. Nora Ephron wrote neurotics; Headland gives you addicts.
We meet Jake and Lainey twelve years after they lost their virginity to each other in college, running into one another at a meeting for sex and love addicts. Jake keeps a rotating cast of women so he never has to feel anything. Lainey fixates on one indifferent gynecologist (Adam Scott, wielding a terrible mustache and that stiff, unbudging posture) for basically the same reason.
Audience Opinions
Audience 6.7/10
"A dirty-talking but surprisingly tender rom-com whose sharp leads and dialogue outshine its familiar, clichéd finish."
Chemistry between Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie, along with fast, witty dialogue and a more adult, emotionally honest view of relationships, makes the film a standout comfort watch for many. latestnetflix.com's view is that at the same time, the story hits very familiar rom-com beats, the final stretch leans into a predictable ending, and a few explicit or awkward scenes and tone shifts turn some viewers off.
What viewers praise
- Spark between leads The relationship between the two central characters feels alive, playful, and emotionally convincing, making it easy to stay invested in their will-they-won’t-they dynamic.
- Witty raunchy dialogue Rapid-fire, clever banter mixed with frank sexual talk gives the film a smart, modern edge that many find funnier and more engaging than standard rom-com writing.
- Grown-up relationship angle Focus on addiction, emotional baggage, and messy adult behavior creates a more honest, less sanitized look at modern love.
- Entertaining supporting cast Side characters add personality and extra laughs, with several scenes stealing attention from the main plot in a good way.
Common complaints
- Clichéd final act The last stretch falls back on standard rom-com tropes and a neat wrap-up that undercuts the messier, more interesting setup.
- Uneven tone and pacing Shifts between raunchy comedy and heavier drama can feel awkward, with some stretches dragging or landing as neither very funny nor very deep.
- Cringe-inducing moments A few explicit teaching and sex-related scenes, meant to be bold or funny, instead come off as embarrassing or uncomfortable for some viewers.
- Character and logic issues Certain romantic fixations and the appeal of specific characters, especially one toxic love interest, are seen as unconvincing or poorly justified.
Recommended for
Modern rom-com enjoyers Offbeat relationship story fans Jason Sudeikis admirers Alison Brie admirers Talky character-driven romances
Full Plot (Spoilers)
Spoiler warning
This section contains the full plot, including major story reveals. Overview above stays spoiler-free.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsShe wrote the rom-com after asking if she belonged in a psych ward
Leslye Headland did not pitch Sleeping with Other People as a cute reunion movie. After Bachelorette underperformed, she told Cosmopolitan at Sundance she was "so suicidally depressed" she wondered whether to check herself into a psych ward. She went to Big Sur with no phone service, wrote all day and night, and a romantic comedy came out anyway. She said she stole from When Harry Met Sally on purpose, including a scene where Jason Sudeikis uses an empty green-tea bottle to talk through female anatomy. latestnetflix.com's view is that that was her orgasm-scene equivalent, and she wanted it iconic.
Onstage at the 24 January 2015 premiere she called the film "When Harry Met Sally with assholes." The Hollywood Reporter printed it. The Guardian used "for assholes." She was not whispering. She was daring the room to treat raunch as the point, not a marketing accident. ,
Dunst read it first. Brie got the job.
Headland showed an early draft to Kirsten Dunst, her Bachelorette star, who was originally attached as Lainey. Dunst told her the couple had been through enough to deserve an ending, and Headland kept that in her head while shooting. Alison Brie took the part. She met Jason Sudeikis the day of the chemistry read, which he compared to a first date. Brie told Rolling Stone she was "great at chemistry." She also joked they were "bringing the clitoris back." Travers quoted the line "You're not the Mark Zuckerberg of vaginas," aimed at Sudeikis, who deadpanned that he likes to think he is as charitable. ,
Will Ferrell and Adam McKay produced under Gloria Sanchez, with Sidney Kimmel and Jessica Elbaum. Principal photography was New York, summer 2014. IFC Films bought U.S. rights on 6 February 2015 after Sundance. The limited theatrical date slid from 21 August to 11 September. Wikipedia puts the budget near $3 million and the worldwide gross at $3.2 million. That is not a bomb so much as a movie that paid for itself and then sat down. , 
The afterlife is the gossip now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG3Q2ua5izw
Sudeikis was still the Hall Pass and We're the Millers smirk when this opened. The New York Times framed the film as a push into heartthrob territory, with Headland padding the doofus with the courtliness she saw off camera. Brie was coming off Mad Men and Community and treating the sex scenes as a new gear. The official trailer even has him declaring avocado too sexual as a safe word. The actual word in the movie is mousetrap. ,
Rotten Tomatoes landed at 64 percent. The consensus said likable leads and a movie that would not go as feral as it promised. Then the catalog did what theaters would not. JustWatch still lists it on Netflix in the U.S., sitting there while Sudeikis became the Ted Lasso guy instead of the Hall Pass smirk. The raunchy Sundance rom-com that barely cleared its budget is the title you put on when you want the dirty version of Harry and Sally. The woman who wrote it did it because she had no love in her life and a cabin with no signal. , ,
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.