Your Place or Mine (2023) is a routine romantic comedy. The story is about two close friends who have hidden feelings for each other but stay in touch for over twenty years. The idea sounds interesting, but the execution was underwhelming. Ashton Kutcher and Reese Witherspoon are good as individuals in the film, but their chemistry as a couple didn’t work for me. That’s probably why the film didn’t leave an impact. Mangoidiots gives it a Raw for having a good cast and premise, but nothing more.
Peter, based in New York, is a successful marketing consultant. Debbie lives in Los Angeles, a single mother to a ten-year-old boy. When Debbie has to attend a course in New York, Peter flies to LA to help with her son, and they swap homes for a week. The story should’ve explored how the distance and new environment rekindled their bond, but the screenplay wanders too much before reaching that point.
The film does have a few light-hearted moments, but they are scattered. Instead of a natural build-up, Debbie ends up meeting a well-known publisher and starts dating him, which felt forced and unconvincing. The usual genre trope—realisation of love through separation—is present, but it lacks the charm. As Jack, the young boy, Wesley Kimmel has performed neatly and is one of the better parts of the film.
It runs for just under two hours (111 minutes), so if you are a fan of either of the leads, it may be worth a casual watch on Netflix. Otherwise, there’s not much here that stands out.
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