Life Partners can be viewed as a feminist version of the typical boy meets girl trope, but this film focuses more heavily on the friendship between two women. Paige, played by Gillian Jacobs is an uptight lawyer who is complemented by Sasha's care-free attitude. Paige hopes to meet a man that she likes as much as Sasha but believes it is impossible until she meets Tim. Sasha seems to be free falling through life as she blazes through relationships with various women and jobs she doesn't like while she attempts to become a musician. The movie opens with the quirky friendship between Paige and Sasha as they attend a local Pride Parade and they watch America's Next Top Model. The plot lures you in with the typical romantic comedy and chick flick aspects but you soon realize that this film has more than its face value. Life Partners quickly becomes a film that delves into real life problems, such as settling down in life and holding onto the friends you have because they seem to be the only ones that can keep you afloat. The plot, although mostly female driven, can easily resonate with people of all genders. It does not have the perfect ending for every character and thus seems more realistic than any film like it.
Involving almost a full cast of female characters, Life Partners easily passes the Bechdel test that seems to be a challenge for most films. With the help of their other friends, all the females in this movie truly grow at their own pace and staggered to seem more natural than other romantic comedies illustrate. Susanna Fogel did an amazing job of writing and directing a film that achieves a perfect a quirky comedy that balances humor with drama and normalizes the LGBT culture, which most other films find hard to achieve. Fogel also successfully avoided the cliché of "best friends being in love" that completely elevated the story line. The chemistry between the characters leads you to believe that the actresses posses the same chemistry in everyday life.
Involving almost a full cast of female characters, Life Partners easily passes the Bechdel test that seems to be a challenge for most films. With the help of their other friends, all the females in this movie truly grow at their own pace and staggered to seem more natural than other romantic comedies illustrate. Susanna Fogel did an amazing job of writing and directing a film that achieves a perfect a quirky comedy that balances humor with drama and normalizes the LGBT culture, which most other films find hard to achieve. Fogel also successfully avoided the cliché of "best friends being in love" that completely elevated the story line. The chemistry between the characters leads you to believe that the actresses posses the same chemistry in everyday life.