After 20 years of friendship, Peter (Ashton Kutcher) and Debbie (Reese Witherspoon) think they know everything about each other. The two trade homes — and coasts — for a week and quickly realize that what you think you know and what you actually know don’t always align. Check out my Your Place Or Mine review for more. Warning: slight spoilers.
Your Place Or Mine Review
Honestly, I had a hard time seeing these two together in the movie. The main characters’ friendship seems based solely on a one night stand. A one night stand that didn’t turn into a potential relationship because Kutcher’s character was and still is a womanizer. So, essentially, Witherspoon’s character has spent 20 years fostering a friendship with a man who treats women like something to be discarded in a few months. I don’t feel that mentality aligns with that of a single mother to a boy. I mean, she seems quite [if not overly] responsible. I feel her character would want the best example of a mature man for her son she could find. Kutcher’s character’s incessant womanizing is not that.
Witherspoon’s character is a do-gooder who treats her child like he is made of glass, spending all of her time working around all of her child’s real [and perhaps fictitious] maladies. I mean, the kid is apparently allergic to a gym? Her life revolves seemingly wholly around her son and his wellbeing. So when Kutcher’s character gets a chance to babysit the 13 year old, he signs him up for the hockey team behind his mother’s back, lets him watch R rated movies and tries to bribe some kids to be his friends. So, these two fall on quite opposite ends of the parenting leniency spectrum. I don’t see how they could ever agree on matters relating to the child.
The best part of the movie was the two snarky friends, played by Zoe Chao and Tig Notaro. Goodness, those two were funny with their snarky lines. I love Chao’s face when she realizes why Kutcher’s character wasn’t into her. She was all like “I knew it couldn’t be me.” And Notaro’s character was hilarious the entire movie. I will definitely be looking for movies that include her. Grey’s Anatomy fans will also love seeing the lovely Jesse Williams.
The worst part of the movie was Steve Zahn’s character. He was this weird stalkery type dude always hanging out in her garden, working on her landscaping [though he hired someone out to do his]. He kept thinking he would end up with Witherspoon’s character. I mean, no dude. It ain’t happening.
Of course it’s a rom-com so it’s a bit predictable in the end as most of them are. And I don’t hate rom-coms. Some of them, like Sweet Home Alabama, There’s Something About Mary and Notting Hill, are actually really good in my opinion. Unfortunately, this Witherspoon movie doesn’t measure up to some of her better rom-coms like Sweet Home Alabama and Home Again, but it’s definitely worth a watch. Just don’t add it to the repeat pile.
Your Place Or Mine is available now only on Netflix.
