Just One Time (1999)

When the fiancee of a fireman reluctantly agrees to participate in a menage a trois with another woman, she does so on the condition that he reciprocate the favor with another man, which ... See full summary »

Director:

Lane Janger

Writers:

Lane Janger (story), Lane Janger (screenplay),

Stars:

Lane Janger, Joelle Carter, Guillermo Díaz

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Lane Janger	...	Anthony
Joelle Carter	...	Amy
Guillermo Díaz	...	Victor
Jennifer Esposito	...	Michelle
Vincent Laresca	...	Nick
Domenick Lombardozzi	...	Cyrill
David Lee Russek	...	Dom
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mickey Cottrell	...	Father Sebastian
Jerran Friedman	...	Young Man in Bathroom (as Jerran Marshall)
Anthony Gestone	...	Club dancer
Hazelle Goodman	...	Discussion Leader in Ladies Bookstore
Harley Kaplan	...	Fireboy's Friend
Susan Kellermann	...	Nava Hannibal (Amy's Mom)
Priscilla Lopez	...	Victor's Mother
Ajay Mehta	...	Husan NY Deli owner

Storyline

When the fiancee of a fireman reluctantly agrees to participate in a menage a trois with another woman, she does so on the condition that he reciprocate the favor with another man, which ultimately puts their impending marriage in jeopardy.

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Plot Keywords:

caught masturbating | gay teenager | closeted homosexual | vanity project | remake by original director | 

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Taglines:

Three's not always a crowd

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 November 2000 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$5,364 (USA) (20 October 2000)

Gross:

$23,374 (USA) (6 April 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alliance Atlantis Communications, Danger Filmworks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Connections

Spun-off from Just One Time (1998)

User Reviews

Ah, the Frailty of Manhood!

There is potential here, and it shines through occasionally, but unfortunately not consistently.

Despite the fact that the ultimate effect is cute (isn't that a terrible word to describe a film?!) and charming, I found myself scratching my head once or twice about the basic premise of this sometimes enchanting little ditty. I guess Janger is trying to warn us that no fantasy lives up to the reality. OK...an age-old piece of wisdom...no arguments here, BUT he never REALLY lets his two lead characters experience their fantasies. They just seem to get lost and frustrated on the road leading up to it.

Anthony (Janger's character) wants to see his beloved fiancée, Amy (played by a very winning Jennifer Esposito), have sex Just One Time with another woman before they get married and HAVE to put their fantasies to bed. That's where the first question arises: why do married couples have to stop having fantasies? OK, small detail, let's move on...

Amy does not want to grant her beloved Anthony his somewhat cliché, pubescent, masturbatory fantasy, and tries to get around the problem by one-upping him: if he has sex with a man for her, she'll give herself to a woman for him. Now pride and egos start getting in the way of anyone calling the nonsense off. Enter Guillermo Diaz: your excuse for a romantic comedy's gay sidekick. Not to say that Mr. Diaz plays his role poorly; he's actually very winning! That said, his role is no more than a convenient plot devise: the sweet, non-threatening, virginal gay neighbor, who enters on cue, but never causes too much discomfort, either for Anthony or the viewer. Same goes for the conveniently lesbian neighbor played by Joelle Carter, who is planted there to give Amy her brush with homosexuality.

Whereas Amy at least gets a lesbian kiss of free will out of it all, before she throws up her hands and screams, "bring on the bands and ring the wedding bells", Anthony stays annoyingly heterosexual. Oh, he does have a kiss, but it's aggressive and full of anger and frustration. When he wakes up the next morning next to his token gay friend, he's horrified at the idea that something might have transpired. Thank God, his bedmate is able to clear that fright up within 30 seconds!

Actually, a rather insulting bit of tripe, but if even the more emotionally self-assured and mature homosexuals were generous enough to forgive heterosexual men their occasional lapses of taste and decorum for the sake of defending their obviously fragile manhood, then everyone might actually enjoy the 94 minutes that this film has to offer.