The premise of committed lovers agreeing to have sex with other people, but only in controlled doses, has already generated one indie comedy, Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones’s Breaking Upwards (2009), and next year the idea will go mainstream when Peter and Bobby Farrelly (There’s Something About Mary) release Hall Pass, with Jason Sudeikis and Owen Wilson. In the meantime you can occupy yourself with this low-budget effort by Katie Aselton, who costars with Dax Shepard. Husband and wife, they begin to discuss an open relationship and eventually agree that, for one week only, each will be free to play the field. Like Breaking Upwards, the movie exploits a titillating idea, then pivots dutifully into a morality tale on the value of fidelity; expect more of the same.
The Freebie
R • 1 hour 18 min • 2010