Everyone’s been there – you think your relationship is perfect until a friend asks you a question about it. In director Zac Hug’s short film Just Between Us, that question begins poking holes in Sam (Ben Baur) and Dustin’s (Matthew Bridges) carefully-crafted facade.
Just Between Us follows Sam and Dustin, a loving couple with an open marriage. When a nosy friend asks them if they ever have sex without bringing in other partners, Sam begins to worry about the strength of his and Dustin’s relationship – so he goes to great lengths to set the mood right for a romantic encounter for just the two of them. Cue some shenanigans and awkward confrontations, and a loving reckoning with what intimacy can look like.
The film immediately drops the viewer into Sam and Dustin’s warm, fun world, surrounded by friends. Fans of the show Community will immediately recognize their friend Bobby, played by Jim Rash. Every scene feels natural and well-lived-in, especially within the dynamics of their friend group – all of the actors have effortless chemistry with one another and it feels like you’ve just pulled up a chair at their table.
The film’s script (Zac Hug and Ben Baur) is where much of its strengths lie. The comedy is sharp and clever and laugh-out-loud funny, while also hitting poignant, emotional beats seamlessly. Its more affecting moments never feel cheesy or overwrought because the chemistry between the leads is magnetic and is the center of the film’s warmth. Additionally, its moments of intimacy are natural and romantic and any awkwardness feels authentic and sweet. Bridges’ performance as Dustin offers the perfect, calm foil to Baur’s frantic Sam, making for a perfectly balanced, true-to-life dynamic.
The physical comedy also works greatly to the film’s benefit – while the jokes and writing are hilarious, it’s the awkward shuffling of bodies in space, the uncomfortable public encounters, and sexy hijinx that adds Just Between Us to the canon of beloved sex comedies that includes a classic blooper reel during the end credits.
The film is technically well-constructed as well. The cinematography (Matthias Schubert) is warm and colorful, and the sound and editing are seamless. There are quite a few slow-motion montages given its fifteen-minute runtime, but because the scenes with dialogue are so sharp, it doesn’t feel overdone.
Just Between Us is a love letter to the mundanity of a long-term relationship, and how the moments of watching TV and doing the dishes together, can be as romantic as the grand gestures of old Hollywood movies.
