Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

There aren't a large number of pictures made, that trap actors in a confined space. There is something charming about a movie that makes no use of special effects and has a cast that can be counted on one hand. Is it a coincidence that most of these types of movies are good or even great? While they might not all make big money, they are usually captivating, fascinating and even riveting. As actors, in situations like this you have to be brilliant. There are no great sets, no big explosions and not a soul to save your sorry butt (except for maybe your co-star).

A great 80's classic The Breakfast Club is a great example of this type of movie. Here you have a handful of teenagers, trapped at school on a Saturday, and as the viewer you might believe that you have them figured out at the onset of the movie. But you quickly find out that you don't know these kids. The high school jock doesn't really want to play sports, the nerd has dreams, hopes, and even a desire to die. The princess is not as perfect as she would have everyone think; and the crazy one is not as crazy as she wanted the others to believe, and the rebellious bully had a heart after all. As actors everyone rose to the occasion and gave great performances.

In confinement, the persona is shattered and the truths come to the surface. In this tradition a twisted little movie called Two girls and a guy filmed in only eleven days, traps two good actresses in the wake that is the brilliance of Robert Downey Jr. Movie watchers with blinders, and eyes aimed only at The Matrix and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon need not apply. This flick is a think piece, it's great acting, writing, and a close examination of the human psyche


The Plot

Two beautiful women stand at the front of an apartment building waiting for their boyfriends to arrive. A very sexy blonde named Carla (Heather Graham Boogie Nights, Austin Powers) and Lou (Natasha Gregson Wagner) are those two women, and they begin to chat as all women do (sorry ladies but it's true). The chatty Lou is preaching the wonders of her actor boyfriend and Carla seems to tolerate her talkative nature as she waits for her boyfriend. Soon the two realize that they are in fact dating the same man. Lou breaks the law and her boyfriend's window to enter his loft, she grants access to her now broken hearted and strange as it may seem, her teammate by default.

Enter the scum of the earth, man.

Yes all men are pigs and Blake Allen (Robert Downey Jr. Less than zero, Alley McBeal) is no exception. Here Downey plays a somewhat successful actor/singer, who just so happens to be an arrogant and self centered two timing man. He is a multi-talented actor that can't seem to stop calling his sick mother. As Blake arrives his two lovers hide and this is truly a wonderful thing. By keeping their presence a secret for a short time, it gives Downey as an actor a wonderful opportunity. Downey has the chance to show what an arrogant pig acts like when he believes that he is alone. I'll bet that a lot of this is not really acting on Downey's part, he's just too good at it, as if he'd done this a million times when he really was alone.

As Blake, Downey makes phone calls to his mother and his two girlfriends. He also sings, plays the piano and talks to himself in the mirror and it is wonderfully funny and incredibly interesting. Soon Carla makes her presence known and startles Blake in a calm fashion. Carla knows, and Blake does not realize the bomb that is about to drop on him. Testing Blake, Carla asks him if he slept with any women while he was away. During his vehement long winded denial and testimony as to why such a thing was not possible, out pops Lou. And the fun really begins.

This movie runs a short 84 minutes and virtually all of that time is spent in Blake's loft. Now with Blake trapped in his loft, these two ladies take their turns, hitting him in succession with question after question. It is more a situation of bad cop, bad cop, there is no good guy for Blake. These two ladies pound Blake for the next hour, and tell him why he's dirt and how disgusted they are with him. During their interrogation of him they bond, and in a strange way, all of this pummeling becomes a sort of self therapy for these two women.

The entire time, Downey as Blake, is fascinating to watch as he squirms, ducks and dodges every query. His struggle to justify his position and his reasoning is captivating. On the surface, the story and the one set premise of this movie sounded a little thin before I actually saw it. But in reality is was more like Jerry Springer, you tell people that you don't watch the show; and yet if you come across it on TV, you can't take your eyes off the train wreck of humanity that it is.

These two ladies have their own bombs to drop

After wearing Blake down, Carla gives him some information that he really didn't want. She informs him that she is not as innocent as he had thought. Lou drops an even bigger bomb on Blake but I'll save that for anyone that hasn't seen this picture. Soon not one, not two, but three truths rear their ugly heads. It's a strange tale of two women hiding and licking their wounds at the same time. It's a man in denial of his problem with telling the truth, and his realization that his unusually close relationship to his dying mother might actually be affecting his ability to love. One high point is Downey talking to himself in the mirror (for the second time) as his two girlfriends drink and console each other in the kitchen. It is funny in the belly ache sense and scary at the same time.

This movie had my full attention every single second and I couldn't wait to hear what question Downey would be asked and how he would answer it. The fight between these three people rose and fell like the tide, it was fast and furious and then the eye of the storm passed through and for a moment is was calm. Soon that eye passed and the anger, hurt and confusion all came to a full boil once again. This is part of why it held my interest, it was the brief periods of rest and the illusions that the women gave that the fight was in fact over. Every time things fell calm and Blake turned on the charm these two women rose once again. Women are smarter than any man and any sense of resolution was fleeting.

The bottom line

Even though Heather Graham and Natasha Gregson Wagner do a wonderful job here, they actually have a role that is not immediately obvious. It becomes apparent that these two ladies are merely facilitators for Downey and his amazing ability to become Blake. Downey's constant stuttering, stammering and conversation that drifts from being aimed at his two ladies to simply rationalizing with himself is incredibly fun to watch. In Two girls and a guy Downey is amazing and shamefully underrated. All of the pieces come together so well and the picture as a whole is too interesting to turn away from. side note this movie is rated R for language, and there is a torrid sex scene. This really isn't a movie for the younger crowd.

The DVD

As a movie alone this scores four stars with ease, with thoughts of rating five stars lingering in my head. But it just misses that mark, had either Graham or Wagner turned in a performance that was better than good, a five star would have been the result. Downey's performance almost drowns out Graham and Wagner at times. As a product for the home viewer it would have been easy to give five stars had there been any real serious extras. The only extra worth mentioning is the additional audio track with commentary from Director James Toback, Downey and Wagner. It is interesting to hear their comments about making the film but the first twenty minutes or so, things are quite rough. It was only after that time had passed that the three of them got into the groove of talking about the film as it played. Graham was nowhere to be found on the commentary track.

I was mildly disappointed that there were no behind the scenes, deleted scenes, out takes or any other morsels. Only a trailer for this movie and a few other fox movie trailers were included (yawn). There is no Dolby 5.1 track here, but to tell you the truth this being an all dialog movie, anyone would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the supplied Dolby surround (pro-logic) track and the missing 5.1 track.

It's a crime that actors like Downey aren't making the really serious mega dollars. It's also a crime that I might actually find myself reading the newspaper, only to find that Downey died of a drug overdose like so many other great actors. When Downey can stay off the drugs, and out of jail; watching him do what he was born to do is more than entertainment, it's an experience. I would rank his performance in Two girls and a guy right up there with his performance in Less than zero. There are a couple of surprises and the ending is painful, however I must confess it's slightly predictable.

If you appreciate movies like Pulp Fiction not just for the action/gangster theme but for its incredibly interesting and entertaining dialog Two girls and a guy is right up your alley. This movie even dips its toes in a late 80's Downey movie The pick up artist. In Two girls and a guy the female tag team imply that Downey as Blake, is a hack of an actor in an attempt to hurt him. So right then and there, he does a little number from Hamlet to show them he is no hack. Well sir your Hamlet is killer and Mr. Downey you are no hack. Let's just hope that you can stay alive, so that you can prove it time and time again.







Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age