Two Girls and a Guy (R) ** (out of ****)
Writer-director James Toback's low-budget, high-concept three-character (OK, there's really _five_ characters, but two of them only appear in the first scene) drama is not nearly as provocative as its title or much-publicized ratings troubles suggests. The two girls are sensible blonde Carla (Heather Graham) and streetwise brunette Lou (Natasha Gregson Wagner), who find out they share the same guy, Blake (Robert Downey Jr.), while waiting for him outside his apartment building. Understandably upset, the two break into his apartment and wait to confront him, hoping to find out and understand why someone would resort to such duplicity.
At about the half-hour mark, just about all that can be argued about has been, and Toback attempts to jumpstart the proceedings with a lengthy, fairly tasteful, and rather gratuitous sex scene (sorry to disappoint, but if you're looking for any menage action, watch Wild Things) that had to be recut multiple times in order for the film to receive an R rating. It doesn't work. More talk follows, about Blake's obsession with his mother, about the possibilities of a three-way relationship, about the women's own fidelity. But any true insight into the nature of contemporary romantic relations never arrives, as well-acted as this bona fide screen play is. (opens April 24)
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