Whipped (R) No Rating

A trio of best friends falls for the same mystery woman, but three sex-comedy plot lines don't add up to triple the laughs.

Story

Wall Street stud-boy Brad (Brian Van Holt), wannabe lady-killer Zeke (Zorie Barber) and sensitive wank-addict Jonathan (Jonathan Abrahams) talk big trash about "scamming" female conquests. Then they meet their match when each independently gets involved with fantasy love interest Mia (Amanda Peet) in the span of a single week. Ignoring the wild improbability of this actually happening, the fellas blunder into an unwieldy four-way romance that puts severe strains on their friendship -- not to mention the film's believability.

Acting

Charismatic newcomers Van Holt, Barber and Abrahams get into the spirit of the piece, gamely soldiering through an uneven stream of bathroom and penis jokes and other indignities in various stages of undress. Judah Domke ("Spanking the Monkey") scores some of the funniest moments as a long-suffering married pal who now gets his jollies following the other guys' bedroom exploits. Toothy rising star Peet (TV's "Jack & Jill") has less success with the blandly written role of Mia, providing no clue as to what the boys are so excited about.

Direction

Writer-director-producer Peter M. Cohen's energetic debut feature builds up a promising head of steam early on, only to have things fall apart once the painfully predictable direction of the plot becomes clear. The guys' "Diner"-style yammering (much of it, yes, in a diner!) is hit-or-miss, lacking the wit of "Swingers" or the ribald comic invention of "American Pie." With the exception of some truly inspired bits featuring Domke's character, the likable leads have to work for every naughty inch.

Bottom Line

"Whipped" isn't as funny as it thinks it is.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starring Amanda Peet, Brian Van Holt, Jonathan Abrahams, Zorie Barber and Judah Domke.

Produced, written and directed by Peter M. Cohen. Released by Destination Films.