With the obviousness of its provocative title, “The Threesome” sets out to grab as much early attention as it can get. Once you get beyond that, you have a movie hampered by dueling ambitions. On the one hand it wants to be a millennial romcom. On the other hand it wants to be a mindful and mature relationship drama. Unfortunately it never fully works as either. And things get even shakier as the two ambitions try to coexist.

Connor (Jonah Hauer-King) is head-over-heels for Olivia (Zoey Deutch). The two once had a fling but broke it off and became friends. He’s still crazy about her and wants to give it another shot. She’s not interested, or so she pretends. While at the bar where Olivia works, Connor strikes up a conversation with a young woman named Jenny (Ruby Cruz). His intent is to make Olivia jealous, but the three end up hitting it off.

After spending some time dancing at a nearby club, all three end up at Connor’s place where things quickly heat up. The trio get closer and from there…well, look no further than the movie’s title. All of this happens in the first 15 minutes or so. The rest of the movie deals with the aftermath and the complications that mount at almost absurd rate. And it all begins with the revelation that both Olivia and Jenny are pregnant.

The story is a rollercoaster of consequences brought on by a near endless parade of bad choices. But that’s not quite the way the movie sees it. Instead, director Chad Hartigan and screenwriter Ethan Ogilby tell their story from an aggressively ‘modern’ perspective. They view nearly everything including dating, relationships, sex, even religion through the same social lens. In fact, it’s so beholden to its point-of-view that it may only appeal to those who hold the same worldview while pushing away those who don’t.

That may not seem like the most fair-minded critique, but in this case it does impact the storytelling. For example, throughout the story the consequences are almost exclusively emotional. That’s not to say there aren’t emotional consequences. But the movie barely looks beyond feelings. And those feelings are often undermined by the tonal hopscotch as the story bounces back-and-forth between comedy and drama.

And then you have the characters. The performances are solid with Deutch impressively balancing the best. Meanwhile Cruz is an absolute revelation. But the characters often live oblivious to reality, making statements like “I thought you were on the pill?” or “But you wore a condom!”. Meanwhile supporting characters manage a few laughs but are mostly cut from the standard romcom cloth. Take Kevin (Josh Segarra), Olivia’s meat-headed side-dish and Greg (Jaboukie Young-White), the conventional gay best friend functioning as comic relief.

“The Threesome” takes several swings at humor while at the same time attempting to be realistic and grounded. It’s a juggling act the movie never quite masters. There’s certainly potential in the story and its unorthodox ‘love’ triangle. But it’s too difficult to get onboard when the story stretches believability to such a degree. And it’s even harder to take seriously when the movie tries to say something weighty. Ultimately, there are just too many frustrations to get past.

VERDICT – 2 STARS