Three To Tango

[1999, Movie]

Three To Tango: Review

Gay deceiver: Matthew Perry and Neve Campbell

An uncomfortable go at romantic comedy that belabors the same mistaken-for-gay premise as IN & OUT, but without much of that film's charm. Powerful business tycoon Charles Newman (Dylan McDermott) has two problems on his hands: Hiring a team of visionary architects to design the new cultural center he's building, and finding a safe chaperone for his mistress, spunky artist Amy (Neve Campbell), who likes to party with other guys. Charles thinks he's found the perfect solution in architect Oscar Novak (Matthew Perry) who, with his partner Peter (Oliver Platt), has presented an exciting plan for the center. Oscar also happens to be gay — or so Charles thinks — which makes Oscar the perfect companion for Amy. The joke, of course, is that Oscar is as straight as they come. After a romantic night out with Amy, during which they get caught in the rain, feast on rancid tuna melts and vomit side-by-side, he's hopelessly in love. When Oscar finds out the real reason behind his hiring he's appalled, but if Charles finds out the truth, Oscar and Peter can kiss the very lucrative account good-bye. Perry and Campbell do rather well with the physical side of romantic comedy, and if Rodney Vaccaro and Aline Brosh McKenna's dialogue isn't exactly Noel Coward, it's occasionally funny in a sarcastic sort of way. But the film's heart doesn't seem to be in any of it: It's funniest — and most honest — moments come when it shares Oscar's discomfort. Gay life is here characterized as an endless stream of dinner parties ("It's what we do," quips Peter, who really is gay) and a vaguely unsavory promiscuity. The film is at its worst when Oscar "comes out" as a straight man and proclaims that you've got to be honest about who you really are. Which is easy for him to say when he's just like most everyone else. --Ken Fox