“Permission” makes up for some of the worst sex movies I’ve seen in years, like “Sex Tape” or “Fifty Shades of Grey.” It can’t guarantee you a happy ending, because that’s how life is sometimes. Nobody can always win. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I want to explain why I enjoyed the movie.
Dan Stevens and Rebecca Hall star as a New York couple, Will and Anna, who are both happy with their sex and happy with each other. Before they decide to take it up a notch, they end up becoming convinced by their gay friends-Anna’s brother Hale (David Joseph Craig, writer/director Brain Crano’s real-life husband) and his lover Reece (Morgan Spector, Hall’s real-life husband)-that they should sleep with other people.
That being said, they continue their relationship, while seeing if they can find fascination in other people. On the side, Anna sleeps with a composer named Dane (Francois Arnaud), while Dan sleeps with a divorced older woman named Lydia (Gina Gershon).
But the movie doesn’t just focus on the couple; it also focuses on the gay lovers. Hale wants to adopt a baby, but Reece but he has zero interest. And while walking Anna’s dog in the local park, he becomes friends with a dad (Jason Sudeikis), who remembers his freedom, before having a baby boy.
“Permission” is a quiet and good natured romantic dramedy that has clean thoughts and cares more about the character study than the actual sex. You have a nice cast of stars from Hall and Stevens as the main couple to Arnaud and Gershon as their respective lovers to Craig and Spector as the gay couple to Sudeikis as the park dad.
There are challenges like Anna losing focus on her courses or how distant Hale and Reece are growing or where everyone’s relationships will take place. But again, that’s how life is sometimes. Crano represents that with a gloomy completion and a good sense of humor.
And reminder: I’m not going near the “Fifty Shades” sequels, so my only option is this.
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
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