Three to Tango

If you happen to be looking for a good comedy, “Three to Tango” is a lighthearted good laugh. While there are some twists and turns, the viewer is never confused or left feeling like they just watched dumb slapstick comedy for two hours.

Set in Chicago, two architects set out to attempt to land the biggest job of their careers. Oscar Novak, played by Matthew Perry, is a young career man trying to help his colleague’s firm succeed. His job partner and best friend, Peter Steinberg, played by Oliver Platt, is an openly gay architect who slips up when describing Oliver to their potential new boss. The boss, Charles, played by Dylan McDermott, falsely believes Oscar is a gay man, which is where the trouble starts.

Charles is one of the most successful businessmen in the city, and has a beautiful wife to come home to each day. He also has Amy, his mistress, played by Neve Campbell. Since he is extremely jealous of her social life and questions her loyalty to their relationship, Charles sends Oscar out to spy on Amy. At her art gallery opening, Oscar and Amy meet and later become close friends. Not knowing his boss believes he is gay, Oscar thinks he has met the girl of his dreams. Once the word gets out, Oscar can’t tell Amy or Charles the truth without risking his potential architecture job.

After being kicked out of her apartment for not paying rent, Amy moves in with Oscar and the situation gets even more complicated. Oscar enjoys spending time with his new friend, but it hurts him that he can’t just tell her the truth. Worst of all, his close friends believe he is gay and they are all cautious about being around him. Once word gets out in the newspaper, Oscar is hailed as a gay working man in the city, and starts to get a following of fans. Peter, who is openly gay, is believed to be straight by his boss, so he also has to pretend to be someone he is not around Charles.

Before accepting an award by a city organization for being a successful and gay male role model, Oscar tells the audience his secret. He sees Amy in the audience and hopes she will understand and want to begin a relationship. Instead, Amy punches Oscar in front of a large crowd, and then follows with another punch geared toward Charles for setting the whole situation up to what it became.

In the end, Amy forgives Oscar and the two begin a relationship. While it seems as though Oscar and Peter lost their job with Charles, a surprising twist during the end credits will clear this rumor up for the viewer.

The DVD itself does not come with many features due to its age, but there are some interesting facts about the production of the movie that are worth looking into with the special features. Overall, “Three to Tango” is a very clever concept with some well-written twists and turns that keep the viewer hooked.

Written by: Sarah Folmar

Reviewers Rating: 7.5
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