It Takes Three

"It Takes Three" is a high school take on "Cyrano de Bergerac" that doesn't understand teenagers, the way they talk or making them convincing characters.

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Admission: I agreed to review the latest spin on “Cyrano de Bergerac” entitled “It Takes Three” (now available on VOD) because I incorrectly thought it was directed by my Letterboxd friend Scott Coffey (an actor professionally credited as Scott Alda Coffey – grandson on Alan Alda – who appeared in 2020’s “The Outpost”).

Turns out the movie was actually made by actor-turned-director Scott Coffey (probably best known for his work with John Hughes (“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Some Kind of Wonderful”) and David Lynch (“Lost Highway,” “Mulholland Drive,” “Inland Empire” and Showtime’s 2017 “Twin Peaks” redux)). Coffey previously directed the 2005 Naomi Watts-starrer “Ellie Parker” and the Emma Roberts/Evan Peters/John Cusack vehicle “Adult World” (2013).

As it happens this false assumption wasn’t the only mistake I made because “It Takes Three” sorta sucks.

Due to his work with Hughes, it seems appropriate that Coffey opted to stage his riff on “Cyrano” at a high school. Unlike Hughes, Coffey and his screenwriters Logan Burdick and Blair Mastbaum don’t seem to know jack squat about teenagers, the way they talk or making them convincing characters.

“Moonrise Kingdom” vet Jared Gilman (who kinda resembles fellow Indianapolis critic Sam Watermeier) stars as Cy Berger (Get it?!!!). Cy’s a shy, nerdy kid who’s reeling after having his promposal to Cora (Katie Baker, “Yes Day”) rejected because she can’t imagine him performing cunnilingus on her. (Apparently, this is integral to her prom experience?)

Unfortunately for Cy the rejection was filmed, uploaded to YouTube and goes viral. He’s now not only unpopular but the butt of many of his classmates’ jokes. Cy’s only source of solace is his sole friend Kat Walker (Mikey Madison, “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood”). The clip takes clicks away from jock Chris Newton (David Gridley, who previously appeared in the much better high school movie “The DUFF”), who’s gained a following through his faux karate videos and takes none too kindly to having attention (positive or not) diverted away from himself.

Enter Roxy (Aurora Perrineau of Jason Blum productions “Jem and the Holograms” and “Truth or Dare” and daughter of actor Harold, whom y’all might remember as Mercutio from Baz Luhrmann’s “Romeo + Juliet” and TV shows “Oz” and “Lost”), the artistic, feminist new student at school. Chris takes an immediate liking to Roxy, but his dunderheaded machismo bullshit in the parlance of Shania Twain don’t impress her much. Desperate, Chris hires Cy to take over his social media accounts to paint the portrait of a more sensitive soul. Cy buddies up to Roxy in the process and develops feelings for her as well.

The young actresses certainly fare better than their young actor counterparts. Admittedly, this probably has more to do with the writing as opposed to the performances. Madison is the clear standout of the bunch as her Kat is the most decent and likable character (despite inexplicably digging Cy), but it’s sorta weird to see her not falling through a glass door and into a pool face full of shards armed with a revolver before getting flamethrowered to death. Perrineau’s Roxy is a sharp cookie until Cy and Chris’ manipulations turn her into a complete and utter dummy. Gilman’s Cy is selfish, delusional and a shoddy friend – I found him hard to root for. Gridley’s Chris is like an unfunny version of Seann William Scott’s Stifler from the “American Pie” pictures.

“It Takes Three” finds its footing in the third act, but it’s too little too late. The collective indie cred of Coffey, Gilman and Madison had me excited to peep the picture, but the result feels stale as this has obviously sat on a shelf for a hot minute. (It has a copyright date of 2017 and there’s a prom banner that reads, “Class of 2018.”) As far as high school reimaginings of classics go, “10 Things I Hate About You” this is not. If you’re looking for a reinvention of “Cyrano” you’d be much better off revisiting the 1987 Fred Schepisi/Steve Martin collaboration “Roxanne.”