Hooking Up

Adult audiences often love shockingly raunchy comedy, but writer-director Nico Raineau's feature debut is a sex comedy that's not sexy, not funny, and not worthy of its two lead actors. First off, it's more accurate to say that the main characters are "getting laid," literally participating in an act for an outcome, rather than taking any enjoyment in the act. That's intentional: The plot drives home the fact that there's no intimacy between Darla and Bailey. They don't "meet cute" so much as "meet obnoxious" in the hallways of an elementary school where different support groups convene. Their "relationship," if you can call it that, is a stunt. They're strangers when they embark on their sex-a-thon across America, reliving Darla's many sexcapades. Bailey, who's nursing a broken heart and worrying about the lump in his one remaining testicle, goes along with it thinking it's an assignment to help her break her addiction. Of course, that's not his only motivation: By engaging in many, many acts of intercourse, he's exacting revenge of sorts on his fiancée, who has no idea that her ex is no longer in remission. (And he's the good guy.)

When good actors show up in terrible movies, we always have to wonder why. For Richardson, Hooking Up is an opportunity to show that he's romantic leading man material. As for Snow, probably best known as Pitch Perfect's prim Chloe, she's said that she produced this film to combat typecasting. She's already proven adept at delivering snappy dialogue, and irreverent Darla lets her continue to flex that skill set. But Snow doesn't succeed in making us care about her unlikable character. And while Richardson is expressive and sympathetic, he doesn't own the role. Any decent actor could have delivered similar results. The worst part about Hooking Up is that it destroys its own attempts to balance sexpectations. Argument: A woman who wants to sleep with multiple partners isn't a bad person! Outcome: She's actually a sex addict whose acts of indulgence have left a trail of hurt. Argument: It's not unmanly to only want to have sex with one woman! Outcome: That character has both testicles surgically removed -- yes, he's literally emasculated. Talk about defeating the purpose.