Product Details

• Actors: Robert Downey Jr., Heather Graham, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Angel David, Frederique Van Der Wal
• Directors: James Toback
• Writers: James Toback
• Producers: Daniel Bigel, Michael Mailer
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures
• VHS Release Date: June 5, 2001
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (84 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305076758
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #228,539 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Substitute "Gals" for "Girls" and you might mistake this for one of those romantic-comedy trifles they cranked out during World War II. Nothing could be further from the truth, though the film does have a lot to say about modern romance, and you'll laugh--while also gasping--frequently as the film unreels over a riveting hour and a half.

Two very different but equally smashing young women find themselves sharing the sidewalk outside a Soho apartment. Both blond Carla (Heather Graham, pre-Boogie Nights) and the dark-haired Lou (Natasha Gregson Wagner, daughter of Natalie Wood) are waiting for the same guy, an actor named Blake (Robert Downey Jr.), who--unbeknownst to either--has been sleeping with both of them for the past year. They break into Blake's pad and trade can-you-beat-that? anecdotes of his duplicity while waiting for him to show. Show he eventually does, and the mind games begin.

All three players are terrific, with Wagner enjoying a slight edge over indie veteran Graham because her character is fiercer and she's a new screen presence. But it's Downey who rules, partly because director James Toback wrote the script in direct response to seeing his old pal (Downey had starred in his 1987 movie The Pick-Up Artist) in a jail-house news feed after his first well-publicized arrest on drug charges. Actually, Downey's most amazing scene--a long soliloquy in front of a mirror--was largely improvised; it's a passage of monumental self-deception, self-revelation, and sheer genius. As exasperating as it is compelling, Two Girls and a Guy is one of the most provocative films of the '90s. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Confused?, June 13, 2002

By 

"peterdao" (Springfield, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Two Girls and a Guy (DVD)

In case you got confused by all the controversial reviews...and can't decide to spend 84 minutes of your time on this film, here are some suggestions. DON'T WATCH IT IF: 1. you tend to pick movies with stylish cinematography that enhances dramatic or spectacular scenes; 2. you prefer movies with twists and turns woven into an elaborate screenplay; 3. you expect some sizzling scenes from the title or the NR-17 rating; 4. you are currently savoring your first love or consider yourself a hopelessly romantic person. But DON'T MISS IT IF: 1. you really enjoy dark comedy whether it's an indie or some Hollywood rare bird; 2. you love witty, sassy, sarcastic dialogue, and don't have a problem with profanities; 3. you readily accept any ludicrous circumstance as a natural facet of life; 4. you realize that it's common for couples to talk only on the surface about issues they're afraid to cope with, until a certain point where they must spill the beans to save the relationship or get it over with... Well, did I miss something? Oh yeah, 3 of my 4 stars go to Robert Downey Jr., simply because I believe any other actresses can carry the roles of Heather Graham and Natasha G. Wagner but nobody can do RDJr 's. He's really one of a kind.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars honest and compelling, June 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Two Girls and a Guy [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Robert Downey, Jr. displays once again, his tremendous talent and his ability to take the audience along on an emotional journey. The dialogue was honest and true to life, and Mr. Downey dominated each scene he was in, as he normally does. He not only displays his acting talent here, but the scene in which he stares in the mirror and takes a good look at himself is one of the most riveting I have ever seen. Any fan of Downey's, James Toback, or of honest films about relationships will love this one! The claustrophobic sets add to the suspense and edge of your seat quality of the film.The humor is edgy and nervous, like the characters themselves.On the whole, an intelligent, worthwhile film!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my all-time Favorites, September 17, 2005

By 

Techthusiast "n00b" (Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Two Girls and a Guy (DVD)

Wow, I just looked up this film on a lark as I'd seen it a number of years ago... given the mixed/neg reviews, I figured I should put in a couple cents here, give this film its due 5 stars.

It would be a terrific exercise/experiment/experience to know enough of each person to contextualize why they did or did not like this film. I actually typically find I like films that sprawl across cities and countries, epic of backdrop. But what was so fantastic about this film is that it was epic of performance, of communication, of a different landscape of love than one normally encounters in films.

I suppose, cinematographically (sp), it unfolds like a expanded play or a focused Mamet film. I remember exclaiming, during a particularly heated argument-communication, "that's how it IS!" -- there were just so many incredibly authentic relationship-communication details in a movie largely about deceits (self and other) and truths.

I believe I saw the film "Jules et Jim" after this (although it is much older) but was terrifically excited to see the fim poster for "Jules et Jim" hanging on a wall in Downey's apt. Ok, point. The POINT is that this film is ultimately an exploration of the complexities and vagaries of love and sexuality. Not that this film was a successful (or intentional) treatment of polyamory of open/liberated love, it did touch upon this possibility in a way I appreciated.

Ok, ok, so I haven't seen it in awhile but, at the time, I saw it probably 4 or 5 times. If you're really interested in relationship dynamics; if you're interested in seeing communication and conversations that have an air of reality and authenticity (better than reality shows, imho, because there is still an intentionality to the direction...like distilled reality gems); if you're intrigued by the full range and manifestation relationships can take; if you love Robert Downey Jr. and want to see an intimate performance; if you have crushes on Heather Graham or Natasha Gregson Wagner (I do! although I'm not sure I can spell her name)...then this movie is for you.

When we look at a film of relationships and say "that's not how it is," it is possibly because we're comparing it to the limited depictions of relationships we've so far seen on screen. The reality of relationships is that they are crazier than we can dream of, I daresay. Right? People loving people is really, in ways, a forefront of human evolution... the lengths we're willing to go to, the energy, the rises, the falls...we push ourselves in ways we would not have thought, watching ourselves, we ever would.