Product: Arrangement [VHS] (2001)
Rating: 5.0
Very good
SEE THIS FILM.No one should be offended by the infidelity in this film. There is no gratuitous or unnecessary sex in this film. In fact they don't show anything more than kissing. The main characters, Luanne and Jake are engaged but he cheats. He does it to makes sure he isn't missing out or whaterever. The point is, he was wrong to do it. He realizes that he isn't missing out and that he has no doubt about wanting to marry her. He confesses and wants her to date another man to make it even so they can move on. It's twisted but I understand why he would do it. The problem is that it's a overly simplistic, shortsighted way to resolve it, so it goes further than he expects. The thing I loved about this film is that it forces her to examine her expectations and fantasies about love, marriage and morals realistically. There was no sugarcoating or ignoring real human emotions. In this movie they didn't make any technical distinctions based on where they were in their relationship. Like, "she can get over it because they were on a break" She had to deal with the reality that he made a selfish decision that ruined their perfect record. She had to make a hard decision about what she wanted now. They didn't patronize women by having her go out on a string of wacky dates with crazy men and go running back gratefully to her cheating ex-fiancee. And they didn't have her change her morals dramatically. She learned some things without totally succumbing to cynicism and lowering her standards to fit in a unworthy man. Because it bugs me when women act like any man is better than none so they accept someone who they can't even discuss with their girlfriends without being ashamed. The story was refreshing and it didn't seem low budget.This looked 'real' and real was looking pretty nice. They had nice apartments and clothes. The actors were attractive and dressed suitably for their setting. They didn't seem unreal at all. I wish Billie James was in something else because I was impressed.