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XX/XY

Coles (Mark Ruffalo, who was so potent in You Can Count on Me), a slacker on the fringes of SoHo, follows home a nubile coed and achieves the ultimate male fantasy, a three-way involving the lure, Sam (Maya Stange), and her sexually brash roommate, Thea (Kathleen Robertson). Later, Coles proclaims his love for Sam while screwing Thea on the living-room floor as Sam and a classmate with a crush on Thea look on aghast.

Seven years afterward, Coles is still at it: Thea is married, but he has a live-in girlfriend while Sam plays the spoiler. All the same, he’s discontented as he struggles with life. The real issue, however, is that he’s a self-absorbed, misogynistic asshole and doesn’t realize it. Neither does filmmaker Austin Chick, who pushes his brand of sugar-lite depravity as if it were in-your-face grit. The actors do a fine job with their two-dimensional caricatures — so much so that at times they seem capable of breaking through the material’s limitations. But like the rest of the film, it’s all just a big tease. (91 minutes)

BY TOM MEEK

Issue Date: April 25 - May 1, 2003
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