Three to Tango

It's true. Actors can take a tired movie plot and make it good. And this movie is a lot like that. Matthew Perry and Neve Campbell have chemistry and Oliver Platt was fun as Matthew's friend. I went in expecting the worst, especially since Entertainment Weekly gave it an "F", but I really thought it was good.

Watching this film the second time, was just as enjoyable as the first time around. The balance between comedy and seriousness is well done, as the stupidity never takes over. Matthew Perry has often irritated me in Friends as he is so over the top, but here he has been kept within better boundaries. Neve Campbell is also in a role that seem to fit her perfectly, playing a sweet, while little wild woman. Dylon McDermott and Oliver Platt are also great in their parts. What made the film work was how believable Matthew Perry is as gay, something he suffers from in Friends as well. So the whole plot works out, with the chemistry between Matthew and Neve working out beautifully. This is well balanced romantic comedy which I recommend. 8/10

It takes Three To Tango. So why the rock and roll, not tango, sequence during the starting credits? These credits are James Bondish; silhouettes, but without tango music; a very entertaining sequence in fact, but they point to the bits and pieces nature of Three To Tango. It's a film in parts.

But some of the parts are downright funny.

Matthew Perry (Friends) plays Oscar an architect who with his gay partner Peter (Oliver Platt , Funny Bones) are after a contract to build some swank building for slime ball rich guy Charles (Dylan McDermott).

Charles is two timing his wife with Amy (Neve Campbell, Scream) and thinking that Oscar is gay like Peter, Charles asks Oscar to baby sit Amy because he's fearful of Amy running off with an old boyfriend of hers.

Of course Oscar and Amy fall in love but Oscar has to pretend he's gay to Amy to keep the contract with Charles, and this keeps the laughs rolling.

For instance Amy gets to confide with Oscar about the sorts of girly things women apparently share with gay men. He also has to deal with the men now attracted to him because they think he's gay.

Hollywood has an uneasy relationship with homosexuality. These days its common to have the comical gay friend or two mincing about in mainstream films (As Good As It Gets, Beverley Hills Cop and many others).

These personalties are added almost strictly for laughs and they are sometimes genuinely amusing but a good dose of homophopia is necessary to really enjoy Three To Tango.

Those not inclined to hate those "batting for the other side" will be a bit under awed by many of the scenes in this film but there's nothing new about that.

Still these sorts of movies may well be seen to be an important step in the true "coming out" of this minority group on the big screen. Judging though by the ill tuned guffaws on air at the screening I attended there's a long way to go as yet.

There are often two or three gags going on at once in any case. This film takes the bird shot approach to comedy. Let off a blast of jokes all at once and one or two might hit their target.

But still the two central characters, Amy and Oscar, do develop some credibility which isn't surprising since they're the only ones who aren't vapid stereotypes.

That might have been not so easy though. I was often still tempted to imagine death mask, hooded, Scream murderers lunging out on the shadows with big knives at Neve Campbell. But she has successfully transcended that sort of typecasting in this film.

Her hair is cut shorter and she's determinably bubbly, very different to the haunted, hunted character she plays in the Scream films.

Mathew Perry like Campbell is very likeable in what is sometimes an awkward comedy romance, with a gay fear subplot.

But overwhelmingly, Three To Tango is often played strictly for fun. Oscar rushes through a market. Instead of knocking over a fruit cart, standard fare for the movies, about six live ducks are thrown at him. Huh! But that was different. And funny.

I didn't see this movie for years because I heard it was terrible. I happened to catch it on cable today, and they couldn't be more incorrect! Matthew Perry and Neve Campbell absolutely SPARKLE! Matthew is so sweet and funny it reminded me why I loved him so much on friends before the shrew Monica took his balls. Their chemistry seems so real, it's either the best acting job they've both ever done, or they were really into each other, hee!

There are a lot of funny moments, some cliché, but its a romantic comedy, you expect a certain amount of formula. But Matthew and Neve keep it real and cute and funny, and I was overwhelmed by how touching it was. Matthew really hit the mark on this one, and Neve is adorable! I missed the scathing and usually-hilarious Oliver Platt, his role seemed a mere supporting throw-away, it could have been played by anyone, but it was nice to see him do something different.

Dylan McDermott does what he does best: irritating slime ball. I never quite believe him when he plays a good guy, and its much more fun to love to hate him anyway.

Yes the film has a message too, but they don't hit you over the head with it. The entire film is nicely sweet and subtle. Everyone (except maybe homophobes) should give it a shot!

Typical Hollywood formula: guy meets girl, guy wants girl, but girl thinks guy is gay and he must maintain the charade or lose a job. In this case the guy in question is Oscar Novak (Matt Perry), who, with his business partner (Oliver Platt) is competing for a $90 million renovation project. To complicate matters, Charles, the guy in charge of assigning the project (Dylan McDermott), asks Oscar to shadow his mistress (Neve Campbell) and keep her away from any guys. Oscar doesn't realize why he's been chosen (Charles thinks he's gay) until it's too late. Of course it's only a matter of time before Oscar and Amy fall in love and chaos ensues.

Perry essentially does a rehash of his Chandler persona from "Friends", which makes Oscar a charming, neurotic klutz who makes little headway with women. Campbell's Amy is energetic as the independent life loving bohemian and her omnipresent grin and boundless optimism light up the screen (luckily there's no screaming). Platt, although uncharacteristically subdued, is hilarious as always and has some of the best lines in the film. Unfortunately, McDermott's portrayal of the self-absorbed- pretty-boy-Donald-Trump-wannabe is suprisingly lifeless and the only weak link in the film.

Tango is not groundbreaking cinema -the straight-guy-pretending-to-be-gay (and vices versa) routine has surely been done in every medium known to man. Unlike many of its predecessor's, however, it manages to be amusing without being offensive: Oscar doesn't try to "act" gay - he does not become a mincing, effeminate, fop with a lisp - rather he conducts himself as he always has. Although humor is the method of delivery, the movie manages to honestly convey the difficulty people must face when, for whatever reason, they are forced to live a lie. Oscar's "coming out" speech emphasizes this point, and manages to be poignant and educational without being melodramatic.

If you're looking for an entertaining date movie that doesn't require a box of Kleenex this movie amply fits the bill.