Table for Three is the kind of spastic romantic comedy that should be very annoying in its copycat storytelling and relentlessly high-pitched comedy. In fact, with a screenplay this predictable and characters this one-dimensional, it's a wonder the movie is able to bypass annoying altogether and render itself completely bland.
The film is a tepid direct-to-DVD comedy with material lame enough to make a cinematic train wreck, and actors decent enough to cobble together at least a likable movie, but the most interesting thing about the film is that it's not interesting at all. Not a good movie, not a disaster, but merely a middle-of-the-road bore, a movie so lacking in uniqueness and originality that it almost merits no discussion.
Brandon 'Why hasn't there been a Superman Returns sequel?' Routh tries his hand as a romantic lead as Scott, a good-looking, down-on-his-luck nice guy whose plight uncannily resembles the plights of many other, more interesting sad-sack movie heroes: He's the poor sap who got dumped by his coldhearted girlfriend, and now he must try to pick up the pieces. I suppose the one element differing Scott's circumstances from other similar movie scenarios is the severity of his rejection -- his marriage proposal makes his girlfriend vomit. So... back to the drawing board for Scott.
Suddenly left alone in an apartment too expensive to pay for by himself, Scott goes searching for a roommate. After one of those tried-and-true interview montages where potential roommates reveal comically heinous character flaws, Scott meets Ryan and Mary (Jesse Bradford and Sophia Bush), the cutesy married couple to end all cutesy married couples. They are bubbly, perfectly coiffed, sitcom-tastic automatons -- and they become Scott's new roommates: Roommates who are there to listen, support, （英文影评）and protect Scott from deeper relationship damage. It works out well at first, because these movies always work out well at first. But then, inevitably, Scott meets an intriguing new woman (Jennifer Morrison), and his roommates become so overprotective that it seems like they are sabotaging his new relationship. Ryan and Mary quickly morph from the 'perfect couple' to the 'couple from hell.'
We know these characters well because we've seen them in so many other 'good guy can't get a break' comedies, both in movies and television. Scott is the movie's Ben Stiller character, so relentlessly put-upon that he can barely survive a double-date with his potential girlfriend and annoying roommates. Ryan and Mary make up the nagging presence that never goes away, sort of like Bill Murray in What About Bob?, only nastier and not as charming. Morrison's girlfriend character is a carbon copy of every unsuspecting would-be movie mate -- while Scott becomes further annoyed by his boundary-crossing roommates, she seems impervious to their comic evilness. The story unfolds in a tiresome string of awkward, unfortunate situations, during which it becomes clear that the roommates are deranged, the hero is long-suffering, and the viewer is half-asleep.
Table for Three is not the most painful movie experience one will ever have, but it is one of the most unnecessary. We've seen it all before, and we don't need to see it again. The characters are wooden, the plot is tedious, and the comedy is strained and corny. For their part, the actors do what they can, but with material this uninspiring, they would be better off pooling their salaries to buy a more interesting screenplay.
Able to cross tall cliches in a single bound.
