This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
You don't hear the phrase "German sex comedy" used much, and "3" goes a long way in explaining why.
This comedy-drama about a three-way relationship — TV science reporter Hanna (Sophie Rois) and her longtime boyfriend, art engineer Simon (Sebastian Schipper) have simultaneous affairs with the same genetics researcher, Adam (Devid Striesow) — is so arty and pretentious that it leads with a plot synopsis performed in interpretive dance. (No, really.)
The three leads are hot and sexy (Rois is as erotic as any woman with Mitt Romney's jawline could possibly be), but their couplings and their inevitable tripling are stiflingly sterile.
Writer-director Tom Tykwer ("Run Lola Run," "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer") is more interested in capturing his actors in dramatically lit settings than in exploring the emotional consequences of their bed-hopping. It's not often a movie contains this much sex and yet is so boring, both to those on the screen and in the audience. —
Hhj
'3'
Opens Friday, Dec. 16 at the Tower Theatre; not rated, but probably R for strong sexuality, nudity and language; in German with subtitles; 114 minutes.