Peter and Debbie are just friends. They’re great friends. After a one-night stand, they decided to be nothing more than that, in fact.
The two call each other from their homes nearly every day—Peter from his apartment in New York City, Debbie from hers in Los Angeles. Debbie’s got a final she needs to take in New York, but she needs someone to watch her kid, Jack, while she’s away. And, well, Peter’s just such a great friend that he volunteers to do just that at her home while she stays in his.
But despite their friendship, Peter can’t help but wonder if Debbie might be the cause of some commitment issues he’s struggling with. For example, he lost his girlfriend because she felt they weren’t going anywhere, and he turned down a job offer with a company he was contracting with because he felt it wasn’t the right fit. Nothing, actually, feels like the right fit.
And when Debbie meets a friendly guy in New York and hits it off, well, Peter starts to realize just who that right fit might be—and she might be slipping away.
Debbie wants what is best for her son Jack, though her methods are a bit overprotective. She’s grown to believe that always playing it safe produces a much better life than taking any risks. But her desire for safety has left Jack feeling miserable.
When Peter arrives, he helps to teach Debbie that she doesn’t need to keep such a tight grip on everything Jack does. He helps her see that though it’s important for them to guide and help Jack, they can just as easily hinder his growth by completely controlling his life.
A man says his name is “Zen, yeah, like the Buddhism.”
Multiple sensual moments are seen or alluded to. We see Peter and Debbie passionately kiss and move onto a bed to have offscreen sex. We see Peter in his underwear and Debbie in a bra on a couple of occasions. Debbie also has offscreen sex with another man, but she accidentally turns on Peter’s home camera, causing him to catch a glimpse of her in a bra passionately kissing the shirtless guy.
A supporting character is a lesbian and briefly mentions her partner. Peter’s ex-girlfriend, Minka, arrives in a somewhat revealing outfit at his apartment and finds Debbie there instead. She expresses disappointment that Peter’s not home, saying that she’s “not wearing anything under this.” Peter tells Debbie that she might find love in New York, “and we’ll have a big ol’ sex party up in here.” We also hear other references to one-night stands.
A man says that Debbie is his “part-time lover” and that they’re “friends with benefits.” A few women wear low-cut shirts that reveal cleavage. A woman suggestively attempts to convince Peter to go home with her. Two women talk about getting their private regions waxed.
Debbie and Peter bathe (in separate tubs), but nothing is shown. An unclothed woman is seen from the shoulders up. A man bends over in a garden, and the camera makes a point to show his “plumber’s crack.” Debbie finds something under a nightstand, causing a friend to say “What is it? Drugs? Porn?”
Peter throws his phone in disgust and accidentally shatters a vase. Jack gets hurt during a hockey game, and he has to go to the ER to test for a concussion.
The f-word is used once, and the s-word is used 12 times. We also hear the occasional uses of “a–,” “d–n” and “h—.” Someone is called a “butthole,” and someone else exclaims, “Screw that!” We also hear over 40 misuses of God’s name, and we hear someone say the acronym “GD.”
Peter mentions being to rehab twice, and he makes it a point not to drink alcohol. Debbie and Minka drink at a bar, and we see other alcoholic beverages, too. Peter references how his dad died “drunk in a ditch,” and Debbie talks about her “drunk mother.” We hear that goldfish died “in a bong fire.”
Peter lets Jack do things he knows Debbie would disapprove of. Debbie publishes a hidden draft of Peter’s book without his permission or knowledge. A song talks about shoplifting. We hear a reference to someone urinating on a sofa.
Your Place or Mine is a romantic comedy, or so its IMDb page tells us.
It’s the type of film that you already know the ending to before you’ve finished watching the first minute of it. And while those kinds of films can certainly be endearing and procure lovely, feel-good emotions, I never quite got that with this Ashton Kutcher and Reese Witherspoon flick. In fact, when the obligatory other love interest was introduced…I was kinda rooting for him over Kutcher’s character?
Part of the problem rests in a plot that really takes its time to get going. Case in point, nearly an hour into the less-than-two-hour movie, I was surprised that nothing of substance had quite yet happened. To be honest, the film is better suited as a story about Debbie’s son gaining some confidence than it is a romance.
But perhaps the movie uses the genre as an excuse for its many sensual moments or references. And as long as we’re discussing content issues, viewers should also be aware of quite a few s-words and misuses of God’s name.
I don’t know if this is a movie that would play at your place. But it won’t be playing at mine.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
