Plot
Ed and Alice are in love, but not passionate, ripping-clothes-off in love. They do laundry on Saturday, and do small things that make each other happy. At their engagement party, Alice sees a friend hook up with a server and comes to the conclusion that she would like to try more sexual partners before she settles down for the rest of her life.
Ed, initially resistant to the idea of seeing other people, decides to go along with it. Alice takes the lead by making out with a friend's contractor, Donald. When she tells Ed, he is shocked, but incredibly turned on. They have some of the best sex they have had in years. Ed attempts to have sex with an actress at work, but cannot perform. Alice finally psyches herself up to having sex with Donald at his house. She leaves satisfied but hurriedly, while Donald clearly has fallen for her.
That night, Alice tells Ed that she had sex with Donald. Ed never thought she would actually go that far. Upset, he leaves. He tries to hook up with different girls at a house party with his friend Carl, but none of his attempts goes well. He returns home to find Alice trying to call off the whole deal. Ed tells her that she is right and that he overreacted, but he says that they should continue the deal until she is completely satisfied so they have no regrets.
The next day, Ed succeeds in having sex with the actress. When he tells Alice, he expects her to be jealous, but instead she is turned on. They again have sex and believe things to be going well. Having sex outside their relationship is improving their sex life. Carl observes a woman (Penelope) in a stereo store who is being pressured by an overzealous sales clerk. He helps install a new system for Penelope and her son Jake. Jake is angry at his mother because of her recent divorce.
Ed has a date at a restaurant and turns out to be seated next to Alice and Donald; it is uncomfortable. Later, waiting for their cars, Ed and Alice talk. Ed is upset that Alice is seeing Donald, and she is upset that Ed has slept with so many women. Ed says they are supposed to be sleeping with other people, but she is just sleeping with one, as if it is a relationship. She says it is hard to sleep with other people with him living in the house. Ed agrees to move out.
Alice is growing tired of Donald because he is needy. Ed is getting tired of meaningless sex. He eventually starts dating a woman named Sandy and grows to like her more and more.
Breaking it off with Donald after finding out that he dates other women, Alice tries to get back with Ed. Ed, however, has feelings for Sandy at this point, but she is not quite what she seems. After a failed three-way in which the third girl straps on a dildo, Sandy suggests they try crack cocaine.
In a self-destructive impulse, Alice tries to sleep with her sister's husband Peter. Her sister is having an affair with Ed's friend Lou. She shows up and all is revealed. Alice misses how comfortable and happy she used to be.
Ed ends up stranded when Sandy runs off with his car after stealing a bag of crack. He walks all night and arrives at Alice's house just as everyone else is leaving. He pulls out a book of stamps that he bought weeks ago because he knew it to be one of the small things she loves. They sit side by side, not entirely sure where they go from here.
You Can't Take It with You is a comedic play in three acts by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. The original production of the play premiered on Broadway in 1936, and played for 838 performances.
Carnal Knowledge is a 1971 American erotic coming-of-age romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Jules Feiffer. It stars Jack Nicholson, Art Garfunkel, Ann-Margret, Candice Bergen, and Rita Moreno.
Julianne Nicholson is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the film August: Osage County (2013), as well as the television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2006–2009), Masters of Sex (2011–2013), and Mare of Easttown (2021), the lattermost of which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award.
Craig Dean is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Guy Burnet. The character was introduced as a youngest brother of established character Steph Dean. He made his first appearance on 24 October 2002. Burnet has won and been nominated for several awards for this role. Burnet departed the role in September 2007 and returned to the show on 3 September 2008 in a storyline which saw Craig secure a "sunset ending" with John Paul McQueen. He made another appearance after his departure in spin-off show Hollyoaks Later in November 2008. The character is regarded as one of Hollyoaks most iconic characters.
Jake Dean is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks, played by Kevin Sacre. Sacre portrayed the character between 2002 and 2008, before making a return on 5 October 2009. In March 2010, Sacre was axed from the series by Paul Marquess during his major revamp and cast cull. Jake made his last appearance on 6 August 2010.
Amanda Dillon is a fictional character from the American daytime television soap opera All My Children. She is the daughter of police officer/detective Trevor Dillon and longtime series villain Janet Marlowe aka "Janet from Another Planet"; however, Amanda was thought to be the child of her aunt Natalie Marlowe, who later adopted her. Alexis Manta portrayed the character as a child from 1996–2000, and Chrishell Stause has portrayed the character as an adult from 2005 till the end of the series in 2011. Stause's version of Amanda started out a scheming, seductive troublemaker, but later matured into a warmer, kinder person due to her relationship with Jake Martin.
Little City is a 1997 comedy/romance film written and directed by Roberto Benabib. The film stars Josh Charles, Jon Bon Jovi, Annabella Sciorra, Penelope Ann Miller, Joanna Going and JoBeth Williams. It went straight to video in the UK.
Sleeping Dogs Lie is a 2006 American romantic black comedy film written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait about a woman whose relationships are damaged when she reluctantly reveals that she committed an act of bestiality with her dog while in college.
Kiss is a book for teenage readers, written by Jacqueline Wilson and illustrated by Nick Sharratt. It was published 2007 by Doubleday. The book revolves around a girl called Sylvie whose childhood friend Carl is struggling to come to terms with his sexuality.
Maisie Foster is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Alice Coulthard. The character was introduced by series producer Anita Turner and first appeared in 2009. It was announced on 30 June 2010 that Alice Coulthard had quit the show and her character would be written out later in the year.
For Colored Girls is a 2010 American drama film adapted from Ntozake Shange's 1975 original choreopoem for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf. Written, directed and produced by Tyler Perry, the film features an ensemble cast which includes Janet Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, Phylicia Rashad, Thandiwe Newton, Loretta Devine, Anika Noni Rose, Tessa Thompson, Kimberly Elise, Kerry Washington, and Macy Gray.
Frenemies is a 2012 teen comedy-drama television film and anthology based on the novel of the same name by Alexa Young. It features an ensemble cast starring Bella Thorne, Zendaya, Stefanie Scott, Nick Robinson, Mary Mouser and features Connor Price, Jascha Washington and Dylan Everett. The film follows three pairs of teenage friends that go from friends to enemies and back again. The film was directed by Daisy Mayer and written by Dava Savel, Wendy Weiner, and Jim Krieg. The Disney Channel Original Movie premiered on January 13, 2012, in the United States and Canada.
Keep the Lights On is a 2012 American drama film written by Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias and directed by Sachs. It premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, and was released on September 7, 2012 by Music Box Films. The film stars Thure Lindhardt as Erik, a Danish filmmaker living in New York City to work on a documentary film about artist Avery Willard; while there, he enters into a loving but complicated long-term relationship with Paul, a lawyer in the publishing industry who struggles with drug addiction. The film's cast also includes Julianne Nicholson, Souléymane Sy Savané, Paprika Steen, David Anzuelo, Maria Dizzia, and Miguel Del Toro.
Sleeping with Other People is a 2015 American romantic comedy film directed and written by Leslye Headland. The film stars Jason Sudeikis, Alison Brie, Natasha Lyonne, Amanda Peet, and Adam Scott. Premiering at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2015, the film was released theatrically on September 11, 2015, by IFC Films. Sleeping with Other People received generally positive reviews from critics.
How to Be Single is a 2016 American romantic comedy film directed by Christian Ditter and written by Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein and Dana Fox, based on the novel of the same name by Liz Tuccillo. It stars Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Damon Wayans Jr., Anders Holm, Alison Brie, Nicholas Braun, Jake Lacy, Jason Mantzoukas, and Leslie Mann, and follows a group of women in New York City who have different approaches on how to be single. The film was theatrically released in the United States on February 12, 2016, by Warner Bros. Pictures. It grossed $112 million worldwide and received mixed reviews from critics.
