''The Freebie'' is a 2010 American

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

directed by

Katie Aselton Kathryn Aselton (born October 1, 1978) is an American actress, film director and producer. She directed and co-starred in ''The Freebie (film), The Freebie'', which was shown in the non-competition "Next" category at the Sundance Film Festival i ...

that had its world premiere at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

. The plot centers on a married couple who, frustrated by the lack of sex in their relationship, allow each other a

one-night stand A one-night stand or one-night sex is a single sexual encounter in which there is an expectation that there shall be no further relations between the sexual participants. It draws its name from the common practice of a one-night stand, a single ...

. The film is largely

improvised Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

Plot

Darren and Annie have a comfortable relationship built on love, trust and communication, enjoying each other's company and still laughing at each other's jokes. However, their sex life has become dormant. When a dinner party conversation with friends leads to an honest discussion about the state of their love life, they begin to flirt with an idea for a way to spice their marriage up. They each agree to one night of freedom, no strings attached, no questions asked.

Cast

Dax Shepard Dax Randall Shepard (born January 2, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker and podcast host. Since 2018, he has hosted '' Armchair Expert'', a podcast that interviews celebrities, journalists, and academics about their lives. Shepard h ...

as Darren *

as Annie *

Frankie Shaw Rachel Frances Shaw (born 1981) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is best known for playing Bridgette Bird on the Showtime series ''SMILF,'' based on the 2015 short film of the same title, which she wrote, directed and starred in. Shaw ...

as Coffee girl * Ross Partridge as Bartender *

Sean Nelson Sean Nelson (born June 12, 1973) is an American musician and journalist. He was the lead singer of the alternative rock group Harvey Danger and is the arts editor for '' The Stranger'' newspaper in Seattle, Washington. Music career Nelson i ...

as John *

Bellamy Young Bellamy Young (born Amy Maria Young; February 19, 1970) is an American actress, producer and singer, best known for her role as Melody "Mellie" Grant in the ABC drama series'' Scandal'' (2012–2018). In 2014 for her portrayal of Mellie, she won t ...

as Jessica *

Joshua Leonard Joshua Granville Leonard (born June 17, 1975) is an American actor, writer, and director, known for his role in ''The Blair Witch Project'' (1999). He has since starred in films such as '' Madhouse'' (2004), '' The Shaggy Dog'' (2006), '' Higher G ...

as Dinner Party Guest * Marguerite Phillips as Emily * Ken Kennedy as Ken * Scott Pitts as Scott * Lenora Pitts as Lea

Production

The script had originated as a detailed 6-page outline, with the rest of the dialogue being improvised. For some scenes, Aselton would let the camera roll for as long as 30 minutes, and then would choose which dialogue made it into the final cut. Dax Shepard signed on to play Darren after another actor exited the project.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the

2010 Sundance Film Festival The 26th annual Sundance Film Festival was held from January 21, 2010 until January 31, 2010 in Park City, Utah. Award winners *Grand Jury Prize: Documentary - '' Restrepo'' *Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic - ''Winter's Bone'' *World Cinema Jury Prize: ...

in the inaugural NEXT section. It was acquired by

Phase 4 Films Phase 4 Films was a Canadian film distribution company based in Toronto. It had two branches in the United States: Los Angeles, California and Fort Mill, South Carolina. Its subsidiary kaboom! Entertainment markets children's entertainment. Histo ...

and went on to screen at

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

. It was given a limited theatrical release on September 17, 2010.

Reception

''The Freebie'' holds a 55% approval rating on review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, with an average rating of 5.6/10 from 29 critics. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film holds a rating of 54 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Todd McCarthy of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' gave the film a positive review, writing: "From a performance P.O.V., Aselton and Shepard hold the screen well and are most watchable, and Aselton does a fluid directing job within the limited challenge she set for herself production-wise. Benjamin Kasulke’s HD lensing is bright and sharp, while Nat Sanders’ editing is very crisp." Andrew Schenker of ''

Slant Slant can refer to: Bias *Bias or other non-objectivity in journalism, politics, academia or other fields Technical * Slant range, in telecommunications, the line-of-sight distance between two points which are not at the same level * Slant d ...

'' gave the film a negative review and a 1.5/10 rating, writing: "Never are Aselton's failings more evident than in a pair of dinner party scenes, one of which opens the film, and which involve the central couple and their friends in a discussion of the nature of romance."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Freebie, The 2010 films 2010 comedy films 2010 comedy-drama films 2010 directorial debut films 2010 independent films American comedy films American independent films American sex comedy films 2010s sex comedy films Mumblecore films 2010s English-language films Films directed by Katie Aselton 2010s American films