Life Partners Information

Life Partners is a 2014 American romantic comedy film directed by Susanna Fogel and co-written with Joni Lefkowitz. It is Fogel's feature film directorial debut. The film stars Leighton Meester, Gillian Jacobs, Adam Brody, Greer Grammer, Gabourey Sidibe, and Julie White. The film premiered on April 18, 2014 at the Tribeca Film Festival in the Spotlight section. The film was released on November 6, 2014 on demand platforms, and in select theaters on December 5, 2014.

Plot

The film follows a co-dependent friendship between two very different girls"?straight type-A Paige (Jacobs) and lesbian slacker Sasha (Meester). All is fine until Paige meets Tim (Brody), a young and charming doctor. As the relationship heats up, Paige and Sasha have to learn how to work Tim into their friendship.

Cast

• Gillian Jacobs as Paige Kearns
• Leighton Meester as Sasha Weiss
• Adam Brody as Tim
• Greer Grammer as Mia
• Gabourey Sidibe as Jen
• Julie White as Deborah
• Abby Elliott as Vanessa
• Kate McKinnon as Trace
• Mark Feuerstein as Casey
• Monte Markham as Ken
• Rosanna DeSoto as woman in car
• Elizabeth Ho as Valerie
• Simone Bailly as Angelica
• Beth Dover as Jenn
• Zee James as Claire

Production

Susanna Fogel and Joni Lefkowitz met in 2002 at a sketch comedy writing class and became friends. Joni Lefkowitz and Susanna Fogel both starred in the 2008 web series Joni & Susanna.

The film is an adaptation of the play Life Partners, written by Lefkowitz and Fogel based on their friendship and similar to the one depicted in Walking and Talking by Nicole Holofcener. In 2011, the play, starring Amanda Walsh and Shannon Woodward, was created and premiered as part of one act play series Unscreened, which develops and produces world-premiere short plays by some of Hollywood"?s fastest-rising writers and featuring multi-star casts. In the aftermath of its success, producer Jordana Mallick approached the pair to consider adapting the play into a feature.

Lefkowitz and Fogel first thought about Kristen Bell and Evan Rachel Wood to portray the role of Sasha, but when they both got pregnant, the role was given to Leighton Meester. Magnolia Pictures acquired the US rights to the film on May 16, 2014.

Filming

Set in Minneapolis, Minnesota, principal photography began in April 2013 and lasted 19 days. The film was primarily shot in Glendale, California and Eagle Rock, Los Angeles. Some scenes were shot at Griffith Park and at Long Beach, California during the Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride. Other scenes were also filmed in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Minneapolis skyline and a few Minneapolis landmarks are also shown in the film.

Reception

Life Partners earned $8,265 in North America.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 64%, based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The site's consensus reads "With two appealing leads adrift in a sitcom-worthy plot, Life Partners doesn't do quite enough to earn viewers' commitment." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 57 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".