''The Third Wheel'' is a 2002 American

romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term ori ...

film directed by

Jordan Brady Jordan Brady (born August 10, 1964) is an American director. He was a professional stand-up comic in the 1980s, and later played small roles in many TV shows including '' Baywatch'' and '' Who's the Boss''. Brady wrote and directed the feature f ...

and starring

Luke Wilson Luke Cunningham Wilson (born September 21, 1971) is an American actor known for his roles in films such as ''Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), '' My Dog Skip'' (2000), '' Legally Blonde'' (2001), '' The Royal Tenenbaums'' (2001), '' ...

, Denise Richards,

Jay Lacopo Jay Lacopo (born 1963) is an American film actor and screenwriter. He is probably best known for having appeared in and written the script for '' The Third Wheel'' (2002), starring Luke Wilson. He wrote the script for ''I Killed My Lesbian Wife, ...

and

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...

. Its plot concerns a first date between the clumsy, shy Stanley (

) and the gorgeous Diana ( Denise Richards), which is interrupted by a homeless man Phil (

Plot

After more than a year fantasizing about asking out his co-worker, Stanley (

) finally asks Diana Evans ( Denise Richards) out on a date. Meanwhile, their office co-workers form an office pool, including his friend, Michael (

). They are monitoring the date between Stan and Diana at a type of party, betting on how far Stan will get with the beautiful Diana. One spies on them, following each step of the first date. Stanley hits a homeless man Phil (

) with his car as they leave the place where they had a drink, on the way to the theatre. The events that follow are far from the night of romance that Stanley had planned. Stanley offers to pay for Phil's things that were broken at impact. Later, after getting the cash from the ATM, seeing he's limping, they take him to the hospital. Stanley tries to sneak away with Diana, but Phil chases them down, throwing himself at his car. They finally get to the open air performance in time for the second act. A random series of monologues of famous figures. Phil reappears, wandering on the stage, and does a randon monologue on bread. He gets a standing ovation. Afterwards, as Stanley accidentally parked in a tow-away zone, Diana and Phil accompany him to get his car. On the bus, Phil has them interact with the others, singing. When they reach the impound, the attendant is not cooperative, so Diana flirts with him. Close to $150 later, they have the car back. Again, Stanley gets Phil at the ATM, planning to drop him, but has a change of heart, inviting to eat with them. She guides them to a Japanese restaurant, where she and Stanley almost kiss, but her ex shows up. Phil defuses him with a slap, then soothes him singing 'Puff the Magic Dragon'. Later, dropping off Phil, he convinces her to look for a place for him to sleep. It seems that Stanley is shut out. Starting off, he turns back, in time to keep Phil from laying a hand on her. Finally, he is able to surprise her, giving her a kiss. The last scene, we see Phil is OK, not really a slow, homeless guy, but more of a con artist. He throws himself in front of a tow truck, just like he had done with Stanley.

Cast

as Stanley * Denise Richards as Diana Evans *

as Phil *

as Michael * Tim DeKay as Speaker *

David Koechner David Michael Koechner ( ; born August 24, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing roles such as Champ Kind in the '' Anchorman'' films and Todd Packer on NBC's '' The Office''. Koechner first became involved in p ...

as Carl *

Phill Lewis Phillip David Lewis (born February 14, 1968) is an American actor, comedian and director who is best known for his role as hotel manager Mr. Moseby on the Disney Channel series '' The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' and its spin-off, '' The Suite ...

as Mitch *

Deborah Theaker Deborah Theaker (born April 6, 1964) is a Canadian actress. She is best known as Casey Edison on the Lucasfilm science fiction satire ''Maniac Mansion'' which ran from 1990 until 1993. Early life and education Theaker was born in Moose Jaw, Sas ...

as Nancy *

Nicole Sullivan Nicole Sullivan (born April 21, 1970) is an American actress and comedian best known for her six seasons (1995–2001) on the sketch comedy series ''MADtv''. She also played Holly Shumpert in five seasons (2001–2005, 2007) of the CBS sitcom ' ...

as Sally (uncredited) *

Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among '' Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Amer ...

as Kevin (uncredited) *

Lauren Graham Lauren Graham (born March 16, 1967) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Lorelai Gilmore on The WB/ CW television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007), for which she received nominations for Screen Actors Guild ...

as Woman at Party (uncredited) *

Jeff Garlin Jeffrey Garlin (born June 5, 1962) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for playing Murray Goldberg, patriarch of the eponymous family in the ABC sitcom '' The Goldbergs'', and Jeff Greene on the HBO sitcom ''Curb You ...

as Office Worker (uncredited) * Melissa McCarthy as Marilyn

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Third Wheel, The 2002 films 2002 romantic comedy films 2000s English-language films Films directed by Jordan Brady