Confusions of an Unmarried Couple
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   146 of 289 readers found this review helpful.

Like a heated argument, sometimes it’s better to let a movie settle in before lashing out emotionally. A little perspective can make a world of difference.


Such was my experience with “Confusions of an Unmarried Couple”. When the movie ended, I was tired and frustrated and angry at both Dan (Brett Butler) and Lisa (Naomi Johnson) and wanted them both to just go away and leave me alone. I felt the urge to grab my pen and shake some sense into them through my venomous take on their destructive relationship. But then perspective kicked in. The longer I held off writing about them, the more sense it all made. It’s like being mad at the victim of one of those big trapdoor spiders in a nature film. It’s not supposed to be a happy ending, its nature!


Now don’t get me wrong…these two should still stay the hell away from each other, but when I looked at the situation as a person who used to be in his 20s and single and controlled by emotions, it all made perfect sense.


To give a little background info, when we meet Dan, he’s a couple months into a funk. He spends his days getting drunk, shooting some putty at the moon, then crashing on a futon. His reason? He caught his fiancée Lisa in bed with another woman. Walking out and moping for a few months seemed like a reasonable reaction. But when he decides to go back to their apartment to collect some of this stuff and confront Lisa, this is where everything really starts to fall apart.


Remember back to your early 20s? Remember when winning an argument meant not only presenting your side of the debate in a clear & concise manner, but also entailed completely converting the other party to your way of thinking? There was no such thing as respecting each other’s opinions, agreeing to disagree, and moving on. Oh no, it was about staying pissed off for as long as it takes, and to hell with the ramifications.


And so Dan and Lisa go at it, dredging up the darkest points of their relationship, beating each other down. And what’s the goal? Airing dirty laundry to start anew, or just revenge for making the other person feel like crap? It’s hard to tell…because each time they come close to a consensus, they attack from a different direction and stoke the fire all over again.


The story of Dan and Lisa is told in an interesting documentary style, we witness their confrontation intermingled with moments of them by themselves with a camera…kind of like watching “Real World” if only two people lived in the house.


As a “story” – Confusions failed to draw me in – but as an examination of how two random young people view and work through a relationship, it was interesting. It’s a unique look into the thoughts of the younger generation and worth checking out. 3 cans out of 5.

Added:  Wednesday, January 31, 2007

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