Wedding season can be a grueling experience under even the best of circumstances. When you're freshly single, still bruised from a bumpy relationship? Or eternally stuck on the sidelines while all your friends pair off? Ugh.
But as with most things in life, it's a little easier if you do it with a friend who gets it. Plus Onecan be that friend.
The film centers on two college buddies who hit upon an ingenious idea for getting through that endless stack of wedding invites: They'll go as each other's platonic dates. That way, Alice (Maya Erskine) can play wingman for Ben (Jack Quaid), while Ben saves Alice from the indignity of showing up alone to all the events she'd RSVPed to with her ex... and, well, you can see clearly where this is all headed.
Plus Oneshares genetic material with Hulu's PEN15-- Erskine is the co-creator and star of that coming-of-age comedy, and writer-directors Jeff Chan and Andrew Rhymer have written for the show in the past. While the two works are not especially similar in tone, theme, or comic sensibility, they do share an interest in exploring the awesome messiness of the human experience, empathizing with imperfect characters, and making you laugh really, really hard.
Plus One perfects the romantic comedy formula by making you forget it's following a formula at all.
The first time we meet our protagonists, Ben is practicing a best man speech in front of Alice, who mocks him relentlessly before offering up some actually good advice. Immediately, we can tell their Best Friend Energy is off the charts -- they share the kind of rare connection that allows both of them to bare their spiky, squishy, weirdo selves to each other without fear of judgment or misunderstanding.
The second thing we realize is that while we may not know a ton of facts about these people, we know exactly who they are. Ben could be described as a handsome dork with a romantic streak and Alice as a cool extrovert with a not-so-secret tender side, but those descriptions seem too reductive. Really what both of them feel like, thanks to Chan and Rhymer's laid-back direction and Erskine and Quaid's relaxed performances, are real people who existed long before we met them and continue to exist even when we're not watching.
Therein lies the brilliance of Plus One: All of this feels like it's really happening. Even the weddings feel more truer to life than the slick, super-professional affairs we're used to seeing in movies. There are extravagant destination celebrations and low-key, high-stress backyard affairs, enormous receptions in formal banquet halls and casual afterparties in nondescript living rooms, and I'm pretty sure I've been to every single one of them at some point.
SEE ALSO:'PEN15' is a hilariously painful reminder that middle school matteredThat Ben and Alice would start falling for each other is a foregone conclusion. This is a romantic comedy, after all, and they're the witty, attractive leads. But Plus Oneperfects the formula by making you forget it's following a formula at all. In between the ferocious chemistry and the hilarious banter, it takes pains to earn that loaded glance, that hesitant kiss, even that somewhat contrived declaration of love in the third act.
Which isn't a bad thing to take with you to your next wedding. No, Plus Onecan't solve all your wedding-guest woes. It won't steer you away from small talk with your friend's stepmom, or put you in a cab when you've hit the open bar too hard, or remind you to pick up a gift for the newlyweds.
But it may help you remember why it's all happening in the first place -- why love is worth celebrating with these grand public displays, why you agreed to suck it up and put on that ugly bridesmaid dress, why you're finding yourself strangely moved by a terminally awkward maid-of-honor toast. And doesn't that make wedding season just a little bit easier to grin and bear?
Plus Oneis playing in select theaters now, and is also available through on demand or Digital HD.
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