For the follow-up to In the Company of Men, the misogyny-on-parade debut that became an out of nowhere indie hit, auteur Neil LaBute wrote and directed a piece that gives more equal representation to the shortcomings of both genders than his earlier film. Three men stand on one side: Cary (Jason Patrick), a womanizing doctor who rehearses make-out lines and keeps his body almost grotesquely ripped; Jerry (Ben Stiller), a self-obsessed theater instructor who chews over every emotion like a morsel
of dessert; and Barry (Aaron Eckhart), a man grown soft in his marriage to a woman who can't satisfy him sexually as well as he can himself. On the other side we have three equally well-defined women: Terri (Catherine Keener), a writer/editor whose prefers to keep words out of the bedroom, much to the chagrin of live-in beau Jerry; Mary (Amy Brenneman), a freelance writer whose attempts to find her own sexual fulfillment with both husband Barry and paramour Jerry meet with a similar lack of success; and Cheri (Nastassja Kinski), an art assistant who meets most of the other characters one by one at a gallery but directs her sylph-like affections in an unexpected direction. The lies, double-crosses, and confrontations between these characters resolve into a sinisterly comic indictment of the very idea of romantic fulfillment. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi
It is superbly executed and, for all its pitilessness, it's an intelligent dramatization of the impact that consumerist values have had on the psyche of the North American middle class at the end of the 20th century.
The film's star is LaBute, a genuine modern movie auteur who ventures behind the tantalizing blurbs on the covers of those trendy men's and women's magazines to find miserable, unhappy people.
You will not like Your Friends and Neighbors; it's intense, unflinching and uncomfortable. You won't look away from it, though, and you won't forget the people it showed you for a long time.
Without the potential for decency to counterbalance and give context to the cruelty, "Your Friends & Neighbors" becomes a simple study in human depravity.
Neil LaBute's follow up to "In the Company of Men" is another brilliantly vicious and savage dark dramedy... this time focusing on the destruction of a few unhappy couples and the web of "relationships" spawned during and in the aftermath. LaBute is in a league of his own when it comes to making a film about completely
repulsive and unlikeable people and having his film be anything but. He cooks with disturbing material here, but manages to keep it riveting, real, and frequently (uncomfortably) comedic. Strong cast, but Jason Patrick is the standout, giving a career best performance and laying down one of the most unforgettable and disturbing speeches I've heard in the movies. "Your Friends and Neighbors" is an excellent film with A LOT to say. Viewers who can handle the film's harsh subject-matter will be rewarded.
Neil LaBute's "Your Friends & Neighbors" is quite possibly the meanest film I have ever seen. These characters are some of, if not, the worst I have ever come across. What makes them worse than, say Hannibal Lecter, is how they stealthily move behind each others backs to wound each other in the worst and most
emotionally damaging ways. You should not be treading lightly when you sit down to view this picture. It's a nasty piece of work. So then why is my rating so high? Because it's also a terrific film. The acting is tremendous and LaBute (who is also a playwright) has some insanely fine tuned dialogue. My guess is that if you don't like hard relationship drama's like "Closer" you wont even come across "Your Friends & Neighbors," and I think that those who search it out will find much to admire. Think of this film as what would become of the college kids in Roger Avery's "The Rules of Attraction" once they hit middle age.
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