ANDIs friendship between man and woman? Writers, singers, directors and others have always tried to provide an answer, often without success. It also tries From me or from you, movie out today on Netflix with Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher. Written and directed by Aline Brosh McKenna – The devil wears Prada, 27 times blank –, at his debut at the directionsays the story of Debbie and Peterfriends for twenty years.
From me or from youthe plot
Debbie lives in Los Angeles, Peter in New York. Theirs is a strong relationship, made up of confidences, breathless talk and great trust. Despite the understanding, they are poles apart. She is a divorced, apprehensive mom with a spasmodic tendency to control. Son Jack (Wesley Kimmel) she has developed multiple food allergies and the fear of anaphylactic shock leads her to keep it under a glass bell. His life runs smoothly, between work, school and the friend Alicia (Tig Notaro).
Peter is a financial advisor, focused on work and totally unable to build a stable romantic relationship. In his diary, beautiful women, but none manages to break through his heart. Over time he convinces himself that he is wrong and not suitable for relationships for two.
Ashton Kutcher and Wesley Kimmel (Jack). (Netflix)
After many years, Debbie decides to go back to studying. He wants to date a course in New York which would help her get a promotion. When her ex-husband’s partner stands him up as a babysitter, Peter offers to help her. For that week they will swap houses: she in the Big Apple, he in Los Angeles. After some hesitation, Debbie accepts.
Are Debbie and Peter really just friends?
Start like this a journey into each other’s lives, but also into the memories that both have buried. In the large New York apartment Debbie feels like a stranger. Peter feels suffocated by a thousand post-it instructions and a thousand phone calls from her friend. To survive the new habitat, everyone applies their own method.
Peter breaks all the rules and gives Jack the most intense, light and educational week of his life. Debbie leaps into the fray and grab all the East Coast opportunities. He knows Minka (Zoe Chao), one of Peter’s thousand flames, with whom she becomes friends. They meet Theo Martin (Jesse Williams)the editor of a publishing house of which Debbie is an avid fan.
A strong understanding develops between the two and they spend the night together. By mistake, he turns on the surveillance camera, linked to Peter’s cell phone, who reacts unexpectedly. Is she just a friend or does her feelings reveal something else? Theirs is a friendship born after a fleeting adventure, which came to an end by Peter’s own will. Perhaps the biggest mistake of his life.
Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher. (Netflix)
Two lives at the crossroads
Despite the disappointment, Debbie has always been there, albeit as a friend. And now what happens? Plus, he discovers that next door neighbor Zen (Steve Zahn) may not be just a friend. Is he risking losing her? Across the country, Debbie finds a manuscript signed by friend. He never expected it, but despite his shock, he hands it over to Theo for him to look at.
Plus, he makes another amazing discovery. He finds some hidden objects inside an envelope. All his certainties collapse and he calls into question twenty years of deep friendship. Just when he thinks he has an answer, he gets a big job offer from Theo. And in that instant her life could change radically, but a phone call from Peter takes her to a difficult crossroads.
Reese Witherspoon and Zoe Chao. (Netflix)
The review by From me or from you
From me or from you is the classic romantic comedy that revolves around the uncertainties and the difficulty of labeling relationships. Debbie and Peter are two forty-five year olds who, twenty years earlier, chose to eliminate risk for fear of failure. And not just as a coupleeven as individuals.
Both Debbie and Peter they settled for not hitting the roller coaster of life. He runs away from a father who died too soon, she from dreams of her that threaten to make her crash to the ground. And over time she became convinced that her heart has become «a cold and hard stone». Will it really be like this? After all, the heart is not in control, but sometimes rationality prevails over instinct and it’s easier not to think and escape reality.
The film is light and fast flowing. Witherspoon and Kutcher play two characters grappling with doubts, uncertainties and fears, which can be empathized. The romance and the hope for a happy ending stand out beat after beat. There dramatic component is bare-bones, but nonetheless it doesn’t feel overly bland. It will be appreciated by incurable romantics. It is no coincidence, in fact, that it comes out a few days before Valentine’s Day.
About the protagonisti, it should be remembered that the plot contains an autobiographical element. Interviewed by Jimmy Fallon, Ashton Kutcher said that “he absolutely had to make this film”. “Sound familiar?” asks the conductor. A question that is anything but casual. Kutcher, in fact, is together with Mila Kunis since 2014. The first meeting between the two, however, dates back to 1998on the set of That ’70s show.
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