Three Way
Tags: romantic, neo noir, murder, flashback

Plot synopsis:
The film starts in San Diego. Lew (Dominic Purcell) finds out that his wife is having an affair with another man. He grabs his gun and goes to seek revenge but finds both of them dead in the bed. He fears that the police would suspect him because he has had a bad past, so he dumps the bodies and his gun in the sea along with his boat. He leaves for a new life.
Lew starts a new life, working as a sign board maker and gets a new girlfriend Rita (Joy Bryant). One evening while erecting a signboard on the side of a road, he overhears Isobel (Ali Larter) and Ralph (Desmond Harrington) discussing the kidnapping and murder plot of Ralph's wife Florence (Gina Gershon). He soon plots his own plan to pinch the ransom. At the same time, Herbert (Dwight Yoakam), brother of the man Lew's wife had affair with, comes following Lew thinking that Lew murdered his brother.
Ralph kidnaps his wife Florence with the help of his girlfriend Isobel and keeps her in a boat. Lew has been following them and takes Florence away from the boat. Then he phones Ralph anonymously, threatening to call police unless he cuts him in for half the ransom money. Ralph agrees. Ralph and Isobel suspect that it is Florence who has some accomplice of her own and is blackmailing them. Lew sends Rita to get the money from Ralph. But Lew's plans turns awry when Herbert interrupts and kills Florence. When Rita comes back she finds Herbert struggling with Lew and shoots him dead. She later finds that the money she brought from Ralph is fake. Lew goes to Isobel and Ralph to ask them about the real money. In the meanwhile Rita tips the police. Soon police comes and arrests Lew, Ralph and Isobel. Lew is released on the verdict of Rita who had hidden the real money herself.

Review: Some truly stupid behavior (excused, in part, by every criminal in this movie being a rank amateur) hampers an otherwise passable crime movie about sloppy blackmailing, sloppy kidnapping, and not-always-sloppy plots within plots.
Despite the foolish actions, the dialogue and performances are good, especially those of Dominic Purcell and Gina Gershon.
Ali Larter looks fantastic, and the locations are nice even if the time-lapse scenery jumps get a little tiresome by movie's end.Worth a look for fans of the genre, but by no means the soft-core porn flick some posts here (and the title - I wish!) suggest.
Well, one scene, and no, it features neither Gershon nor Larter..
So, what does the title have to do with the movie?.
I had never heard of Three Way, but when I was at Hollywood Video, I noticed the film and saw that Gina Gershon was in it.
I like her, so I decided to go ahead and pick up the film; so I watched it last night and I was really disappointed.
First off, Gina was in the movie for barely 5 minutes, the plot had potential, but most of the actors ruined the movie for me, I mean, absolutely none of the characters were at all likable.
The main character, Lew, wasn't even a cool anti-hero, he just seemed to complain too much.
The film wasn't very well shot and it just seemed like it was more of a chore and a movie that most of the cast and crew just wanted to get through.
I also do not mind sex in a movie, but some of the sex scenes were just plain unnecessary and didn't add anything to the supposed story.Lew is a guy who just complains so much of how badly life is treating him, his wife has been murdered and he got rid of her body with her lover's as well, instead of going to the police.
One night he over hears a couple plotting to kidnap a woman who has a rich family.
The couple has been having an affair, and it turns out that the guy is kidnapping his wife and is expecting a million dollars, but Lew wants that money and has other plans in mind for them.Three Way isn't the worst film I saw, the beginning of the film wasn't so bad, it had enough potential, but there were things that were left unexplained.
Like we see Lew go onto the boat where his wife and her lover were killed, he has a gun, was he intending to kill them or scare them or what?
The scene between Lew and Florence where she was trying to seduce him didn't make much sense, I know what it was, I got the scene, but the whole story of that wasn't needed.
I just think that the film could've been made better, or at least had a better cast, Gina's talent was very much wasted on this stupid film.3/10.
Well, I should have known the underlying rule in soft porn flics.
The girl you want to see with her shirt off never takes it off.
Ali Larter with two sex scenes and nothing more than a naval.
I can't believe she stooped to this movie, same with Gina Gershon.
This movie was garbage.
The "unexpected plot twists were expected, predictable, and worthless.
Ali Larter and Gina Gershon both keep their clothes on the entire movie, and the plot sucks.
Your lead guy plays such a moron that you hope something bad happens to him.
The lead girl is annoying and the ending doesn't fool anyone, it's still crap.
How a Good Film-Noir Is Lost Due to a Commercial Conclusion.
Lew (Dominic Purcell) is a carpenter with a past, who accidentally hears the conversation of two lovers in a car in an isolated spot about a kidnapping of a woman of a wealthy local family.
He architects a plan with his girlfriend Rita (Joy Bryant) to steal the ransom from the couple, but things do not work how planned.
"3-Way" is a erotic and sexy film-noir, with a very reasonable story and very beautiful actresses.
There are many plot points and double-crosses, and I found it interesting.
However, the commercial conclusion spoils the film.
The director and the writer should have seen the masterpiece "Body Heat" and offer an end more suitable for such amoral story.
The participation of Gina Gershon is minimum, basically to give her name to the credits.
My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Seqüestro, Chantagem e Morte" ("Kidnapping, Blackmail and Death").
So-so straight to video story about blackmailers....
1st watched 5/29/2006 - 4 out of 10(Dir-Scott Ziehl): So-so straight to video story about blackmailers being blackmailed by a man who overhears their plot to kill the man's current wife and receive the inheritance.
The man who overhears the plot is played by Dominic Purcell as Lew, who just happens to have a checkered past himself and is looking for a way to disappear and thinks he's found it.
Other characters enter the story including the brother of someone that the main character supposedly killed and is played by Dwight Youkim and the wife who is supposed to be ofted, played by Gina Gershon.
These two more well known names have smaller parts but the DVD box tries to sell them as stars in the movie.
Joy Bryant has a bigger role as Lew's girlfriend and partner in his scheme and does a good job in her character.
The problem with the movie is that the story doesn't keep your interest and Purcell doesn't do a very good job of carrying the movie.
He plays his part half-heartedly and the movie moves along at the same speed making for a very, as I said before, so-so movie..
No way.
"3-Way" is not as good as the cover makes it look.
For example, in the beginning we can't be sure if the action is taking place in a motel room or on a boat!
But even when the pieces start falling together, the story only gets stupider.
The dialogue is often idiotic and the plot is contrived ("I was in the right place at the right time") and convoluted; for a "plan" movie to work, you have to believe that the plan has at least some chance to succeed - the plan in this film seems doomed from the beginning.
Dominic Purcell is a charisma-free lead, all the girls are pretty (especially Joy Bryant), but the best acting job by far is done by a really creepy Dwight Yoakam.
Full disclosure here...I picked up this movie because I love to look at Dominic Purcell.
So charismatic is this very attractive guy that he can make smoking sexy (and he does A LOT of it during the film).
Believe me, an actor must have a high degree of sexiness to make me still like him when he smokes this much.
And I must give the director credit, the sex (at times gratuitous but always fun) gives equal time to all genders...the women are sexy, the men are sexy, and each really seems to enjoy the act- this must be a difficult task to pull off, at least in a mainstream movie when the sex is not real.
It is hot (although not as hot as it could be...), but, at times, it is actually integral to the plot.
Acting: pretty darned good, except Ms. Gershon.
She starts out with a bang, with one overheard scene (a nice touch by the intriguing writer), but she falters in an awful scene that attempts to capitalize on the untapped possibilities of Stockholm syndrome; but top honors have to go to Joy Bryant, in a thankless role that gives her some puzzling lines to deliver, some of which are confusing (very), at least until the denouement.
Ms Larter need some work (despite some interesting work in fluff like American Outlaws and the Final Destination series), and she certainly cannot deliver some hardboiled lines like those after her sexual encounter with the kinda hot Desmond Harrington which deal with the problem of secrets, namely that no one can keep them.
Mr Yoakam, as always, deserves better- he smolders with an odd sexuality that rivets the watcher as long as he is on the scene; he even makes pain believable.
Directing: like I said, somehow the director makes the sex interesting for people of all sexes and sexual persuasions (I especially like Purcell's tattoos), but at times some of his scenes seem forced.
The stand-out is the overheard scene between Harrington and Gershon (although, oddly, Ms. Larter can't pull it off)...credit the writer for this, which brings me to...
Writing: some very interesting stuff (despite the dialogue between Larter and Harrington in their car toward the beginning- but perhaps we should blame Larter).
The theme of overheard plans (however well-laid they may be) may be derived from the book (I don't know), but its commonness in the film is a reason I think this writer is smarter than the material he has been given- the script sets up events in a necessary manner which is often lacking these days; how many times have you said to yourself, why is this happening?
There is a GREAT scene toward the end between Bryant and Purcell when they don't quite understand one another that is hilarious, but it is so subtle that it may be missed.
Everyone gets what they deserve, and the right people end up with one another.
I just wish Yoakam's character had reached a more interesting end- at least we get one last look at Purcell on the beach.
Overall, if you are a little drunk on a Fri night and want some sexual titillation paired with some degree of intellectual stimulation, you could do worse than this thriller.
THREE WAY is a modern-day attempt to update the classic 1940s film noir genre to a modern setting, featuring a protagonist up to his neck in murky dealings as he attempts to turn a planned kidnapping to his own advantage.
The title and the inclusion of some extraneous sex scenes make this look like an attempt to plough the same furrow as WILD THINGS, but this is nowhere near as good.Dominic Purcell's protagonist is one of the worst things about this: he's ineffective and weak throughout, and you just wish he'd man up and throw a punch here and there.
None of the other cast members are particularly good, with Gina Gerson's role a limited one - she seems to be included for name value alone.Although the convoluted plotting could have been interesting in better hands, often the writing feels lazy here and many sequences which should be suspenseful just aren't - they're boring instead.
After I finished watching, I couldn't help but consider this a waste of time..
Action and soft porn parody?!.
I don't believe this film is a serious one.
We see our hero half naked or with his favorite white shirt, and he never beats someone as we expect from an ordinary Hollywood movie.
Also he keeps one eye always behind the door, watching women, but never succeeds..
If you have time, take a look..
I had so much time to laugh, and had a funny night after the film with discussions about storyline and characters.
The movie shocks you when you try to guess the actions "our hero" will take place.
By the way, the funniest thing about movie is, "our white shirted hero" was in better condition before he takes his time for some action.
I think it will be a cult movie when people realize there is such a film..
Yes, I myself, a huge Gina Gershon fan, was quite disappointed.The one reason I rented this movie was because of her and I guess she obviously had some free time or was offered a nice monetary payday.
The biggest issue I had about 3 Way was the lack of concentration and focus regarding the continuity.
The black pullover ski cap with the bright and very noticeable yellow smily face that was on Gina during her introduction to Dominic Purcel.(Who?) The face was visible as the hat was pulled up to her nose.
The very next scene the face was gone but the ski cap was still on and pulled up to the same spot.
The movie was OK about 6 out of ten.
It had some twists and an interesting story line.
The individuals that wrote about this movie need to rethink their thoughts.
Joy Bryant is the most beautiful woman in the movie by about 5 miles.
The other two females have had more movies, but based on looks I don't see how you could even compare them to Joy Bryant.
The only thing I don't understand about Hollywood, does any female actresses not take their cloths off anymore?
It is common in almost every movie now for some female actress to take their top off.
Isn't there a little bit more to these movies or is that all California wants to produce..
Gina who?.
"The participation of Gina Gershon is minimum, basically to give her name to the credits." No offense Ms. Gershon, but DUDE from Brazil obviously must be a big fan of yours, "Watch out" - I had to actually "IMDB" Gina, b/c I could not place her in anything.
I came to this movie b/c I saw that Ali Larter produced - 'VERY HOT LADY' if you are reading this Ali 'Just one date, please?!!' I did see that Dwight Yoakum is in this movie and I may just rent it since it also sounds good.
The ten line minimum must be done away with, it is really annoying.
I'm seriously not trying to pad my comment, its just that I feel that 1000 words and/or 10 lines is way too much..
Loved the story.
Loved the film..
Three way is not a menage-a-trois film even though the cover makes it look like so.
It actually has a good story, a good plot and really good acting.
The movie was marketed the wrong way and that's why a lot of people are upset because they are expecting a soft porn film when in fact they got the real deal which is a feature length film with a couple of love scenes.The story is like this, A struggling man named Lewis Brookbank(Dominic Purcell) has a bad past but now wants a good future.
He sees the opportunity and is eager to grasp it and live it with his present love or second love named Rita Caswell(Joy Bryant) of his life.
This opportunity though seems to have become more of a nightmare when the plan does not go as planned.This movie has all the right elements for a good movie which is a good storyline with a good plot to carry it out plus a director with actors who know what they are doing.Don't expect for a soft porn flick but a good story on screen..
This really didn't seem to be a "soft porn parody" to me.
In fact I didn't think the movie was bad at all.
It had many twists, and I doubt anyone could have foreseen the ending.
Not only was Dwight Yokam his "creepy self" (he also give a good performance in the "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" starring Tommy Lee Jones) but was a real plus to the movie.
He gets better with every role.
Even though Gina Gershon is only in the movie for a few moments the plot does revolve around her.
And really how much screen time should a hostage get?
The real flaw is that the ending really isn't fully explained, I had to back the DVR up and listen to the dialog closely.
Although it could be due to the fact I watched it at 2:00 a.m..
Dominic Purcell fab, plot lines a bit shaky, continuity effected by a man wearing a blindfold.
OK, I admit that the only thing that led me to this movie was seeing the words "Dominic Purcell".
he looks I thought I'd give it a whirl.
You see a lot of him in the movie (well most of him actually in the early scenes) so in that respect it was a very satisfying experience.However the continuity must have been checked by an underpaid short-sighted person with short term memory loss and a paper bag over his head.
When the gun-toting murderous brother kidnaps the 'hero' what is that random sticking plaster on Lew's arm all about?
The continuity diverted my attention from the unlikeliness of some of the plot twists, or was that the whole idea?
Anyway I kinda liked the end.
Throughout the movie people are constantly physically assaulting Lew, (even the girlfriend) but he never offers violence back, and at one point he apologises for raising his voice to her.
Frankly I'd have given her a slap for some of the things she does, and I'm a woman.
I guess the lack of violence on his part is a deliberate movie plot issue.So hip hooray for him getting a break and us getting another topless moment from Mr Purcell at the end, although up till the credits I was expecting her to screw him over on the money front.
And another cheer for both genders getting their kit off, and not just the females..
Extortion, sex, murder and none of your wildest dreams.
3 WAY is close to congenial coitus...minus one.
A hard luck sign painter(Dominic Purcell)overhears a couple plotting a kidnapping and possible murder all in the name of illicit love.
He schemes up a way to foil the thing and make a sizable fortune in the process.
Now enters a very serious blackmailer(Dwight Yoakam)and this tale becomes more muddled and darkly comedic.
At times there is a something to look at and very little to talk about.
Also in the cast: Gina Gershon, Desmond Harrington and Ali Larter.
In my wildest dreams...Gershon with Larter and well...you know.