Three Way Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
Lew is a small time loser with a troubled past and a very big secret. Overhearing a couple plan a kidnapping, Lew is tempted to come up with a scheme of his own. He decides to get to the victim first and then blackmail the real criminals. His plan soon spins out of control.
| Dominic Purcell | Lewis 'Lew' Brookbank |
| Joy Bryant | Rita Caswell |
| Ali Larter | Isobel Delano |
| Desmond Harrington | Ralph Hagen |
| Dwight Yoakam | Herbert Claremont/Clarkson |
| Gina Gershon | Florence DeCroix Hagen |
| Roxana Zal | Janice Brookbank |
| Dan Martin | Patrolman |
| Christian Mills | Bruce Hildred |
| Jason Sutliff | Cop |
| Al Israel | Cashier |
| Marc Allen Lewis | Vanderwall |
| Scott Ziehl |
4.70 out of 10 (536 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Dominic Purcell fab, plot lines a bit shaky, continuity effected by a man wearing a blindfold
posted on 26 Jun 2009OK, I admit that the only thing that led me to this movie was seeing the words "Dominic Purcell". Knowing how phwoar! 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? Not to mention the visible/invisible shirt. 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.
These comments are off
posted on 29 Jan 2009The 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. It is not even close. 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.
So-so straight to video story about blackmailers...
posted on 02 Nov 20081st 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.
Watchable trash
posted on 27 Oct 2008This is one of those films in which there are no heroes and no likable people. Come to think of it, there are no smart people either, just a bunch of greedy sex-starved losers with no redeeming features and futures as dim as their brains. They are tangled up in an edgy little thriller that wants to be noir but doesn't really know how to go about it. That foreshadowing of doom so often found in noir films is present, but only because the lead male character (played by Dominic Purcell) is so thick you just know he's going to screw everything up before the end credits roll. He looks cool chugging on his beer and smoking his cigarettes and he has some cool tattoos but he doesn't really have a clue…In a confusing and disjointed prologue we are introduced to Lewis (Purcell) and his wife engaging in a little rumpy. Wifey's just going through the motions though – or not, if you see what I mean – and, immediately afterwards, walks out on him to take up with another man. Presumably boarding the couple's love boat with the intention of shooting them as he has a gun, Lewis finds someone has already plugged them while they were enjoying a spot of rumpy, so – bizarrely – sails out into the ocean to dispose of the bodies. Having done so, our thicko hero can't find his gun… Eight months later he's planting signs along a highway when he overhears illicit lovers Isobel (Ali Larter) and Ralph (Desmond Harrington) discussing their plan to kidnap Ralph's wife and kill her once they receive the ransom money as they indulge in a bout of rumpy. Later, Lewis goes back to the deserted gas station he calls home and has a bit of rumpy with his dusky girlfriend Rita (Joy Bryant) in the shower after disclosing his plan to her to steal the hostage from the kidnappers. Then, hiding in Isobel's house for no apparent reason, he watches her and Ralph enjoying a little rumpy as they discuss their kidnap plan…You may have noticed a pattern emerging here…Despite its suggestive title 3-Way isn't a soft core porn flick but it might as well be, and it's a surprise to discover this is actually based on a 60s pulp novel by Gil Brewer who, as well as writing such epics as Backwoods Teaser and Nude on Thin Ice, was an Ellery Queen ghost writer. Director Scott Ziehl seems to be having a whale of a time with his mostly attractive cast, and seems particularly fond of time-lapse photography (although thankfully not during the rumpy parts) as we see more shadows racing across the screen and boats jigging back and forth like fidgety kids than we do naked boobs.The storyline is unnecessarily convoluted as it repeatedly tries to outwit the viewer. It largely manages to do this by using the cleverest twist I've seen in a recent film – it actually follows the most predictable and obvious path open to it. It does produce a whopper of a twist at the end that is handled almost cursorily, as if the writers knew they had to produce some kind of twist because all crime films these days have a twist and this was the best they could come up with. It's handled so badly that we're deprived of even that brief thrill of enlightenment before the plot holes shine through like the sun through bullet holes in a wall. The twist in this film truly travels beyond ludicrous and into the realms of the plainly impossible.For all this, there's an undoubtedly trashy appeal about the whole thing that keeps you watching even though you know it's rubbish. There is also the lovely Gina Gershon, who is worth watching in anything, and who, at 42, looks twice as hot as her two younger female co-stars. Sadly, she only has about ten minutes screen time – and some of that is spent with a balaclava pulled over her head.
So, what does the title have to do with the movie?
posted on 25 Jun 2008I 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. But he's moved on, has a new girlfriend, and they are both in debt. 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
How a Good Film-Noir Is Lost Due to a Commercial Conclusion
posted on 02 May 2008Lew (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")
A menage-a-trois minus two.
posted on 30 Apr 2008Extortion, sex, murder and none of your wildest dreams. This flick is based on Gil Brewer's early 60's pulp fiction WILD TO POSSESS. 3 WAY is close to congenial coitus...minus one. Forget about it. 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.
Loved the story. Loved the film.
posted on 25 Mar 2008Three 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.
a guilty pleasure
posted on 01 Mar 2008Full 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. But I don't mean to overemphasize the sex in this potboiler. It is hot (although not as hot as it could be...), but, at times, it is actually integral to the plot. I will go topic by topic in my review... 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? This event does not necessarily follow from the last! 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. The ending: well, despite some tantalizing dialogue, the ending is not so much a surprise as a relief. 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. Perhaps he is more appealing to gay males, but, well, give him a chance, women! 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. At least it holds together and provides a great deal of pleasure, even if it won't be on any Academy voter's list.
Mega-crap!
posted on 23 Jun 2007Well, 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. Where is the justice? 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. What crap! Trust me on this one, this is 88 minutes of your life that you'll NEVER SEE AGAIN! 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. Avoid at all costs.
Action and soft porn parody?!
posted on 02 Jan 2007I 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.. Not serious, though..
Were the script super and editor paying attention!
posted on 21 Dec 2006Yes, 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. Whether the hat was turned around or replaced, this was a very sloppy and negligent error in principle shooting and post production.
No way
posted on 17 May 2006"3-Way" is not as good as the cover makes it look. The director's "hip" visual style is only obtrusive. 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. (**)
Not bad at all
posted on 03 Feb 2005This 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.
Not-bad crime flick
posted on 05 Nov 2004Some 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.
Gina who?
posted on 13 Aug 2009"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. Please do not block my account!!!!! 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.