Trois (2000) Poster

(2000)

User Reviews

Review this title
23 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
3/10
Trois Gets a Three
IboChild3 April 2000
First of all, let me make one thing crystal clear. When I paid my money to see this movie, I didn't walk into the theatre expecting something worthy of Academy Award consideration. However, what I did expect was a story that had some semblance of logic (and perhaps a few cheap thrills). I also expected a film that in some way dealt with the often avoided issue of Black sexuality. But once again like several recent Black "thrillers," I was left disappointed. What's the deal with these independent filmmakers? You make a film that presents itself as a steamy erotic thriller, but with PG-rated sex and no nudity to speak of. What's the point? Audiences would have been better served by renting an old copy of FATAL ATTRACTION or even SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT, than paying their hard earned money to see basically the same thing that you could catch for free on a network daytime drama. An erotic thriller without any steamy sex or nudity is like a western with no gunfight or a romantic comedy with little romance and no comedy. On another level, the poorly structured story makes absolutely no sense. Without giving away the ending, the writers set up things that don't pay off later in the script and "pay off" with things that were not properly set up. By doing so, they break a cardinal rule of any type thriller or mystery story by not playing fair. Also, the scenes are not arranged for maximum dramatic effect. It lacks the escalating tension that made FATAL ATTRACTION so effective in its examination of infidelity. There are also several subplots in the film which serve to trivialize important issues (e.g., physical abuse, child care). Additionally, the film relies too heavily on stereotypes, particularly as they relate to the lesbian/bi-sexual character of Jade. In terms of acting, Gretchen Palmer stands out with her over-the-top performance as Jade, which occasionally gave the film some much needed camp appeal. On the other hand, Gary Dourdan as Jermaine was weak. He's so cold and insensitive, one wonders how his wife, Jasmine (Kenya Moore in a typical B-movie performance) agreed to his "indecent proposal" in the first place. If independent filmmakers are going to compete with big budget studio fare such as FATAL ATTRACTION, they must be willing to "push the envelope." Instead, TROIS along with a series of other recent independently produced sexual thrillers insist on playing it safe by toning down the sex and the more provocative elements in their films. For what reason, who knows? Hopefully, some other filmmaker will "step up to the plate" and really deal with Black sexuality rather than skirt around it. On a positive note, despite it's many flaws, TROIS is still better than Rob Hardy's anemic first feature, CHOCOLATE CITY. The film is also to be commended for its small scale, but reasonably effective grass-roots marketing champaign. As a gesture in support of Black independent films, I have delayed submission of this critique until the film has all but left the theatres. For those who haven't seen it, check it out on video and express your own views.
8 out of 11 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
3/10
Trois Gets a Three
IboChild3 April 2000
First of all, let me make one thing crystal clear. When I paid my money to see this movie, I didn't walk into the theatre expecting something worthy of Academy Award consideration. However, what I did expect was a story that had some semblance of logic (and perhaps a few cheap thrills). I also expected a film that in some way dealt with the often avoided issue of Black sexuality. But once again like several recent Black sexual "thrillers," I was left disappointed. What's the deal with these independent filmmakers? You make a film that presents itself as a steamy erotic thriller, but with PG-rated sex and no nudity to speak of. What's the point? Audiences would have been better served by renting an old copy of FATAL ATTRACTION or even SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT, than paying their hard earned money to see basically the same thing that you could catch for free on a network daytime drama. An erotic thriller without any steamy sex or nudity is like a western with no gunfight or a romantic comedy with little romance and no comedy. On another level, the poorly structured story makes absolutely no sense. Without giving away the ending, the writers set up things that don't pay off later in the script and "pay off" with things that were not properly set up. By doing so, they break a cardinal rule of any type of thriller or mystery story by not playing fair. Also, the scenes are not arranged for maximum dramatic effect. It lacks the escalating tension that made FATAL ATTRACTION so effective in its examination of infidelity. There are also several subplots in the film which only serve to weaken the main plot and trivialize important issues (e.g., physical abuse, child care). Additionally, the film relies too heavily on stereotypes, particularly as they relate to the lesbian/bi-sexual character of Jade. In terms of acting, Gretchen Palmer stands out with her over-the-top performance as Jade, which occasionally gave the film some much needed camp appeal. On the other hand, Gary Dourdan as Jermaine was weak. He's so cold and insensitive, one wonders how his wife, Jasmine (Kenya Moore in a typical B-movie performance) agreed to his "indecent proposal" in the first place. If independent filmmakers are going to compete with big budget studio fare such as FATAL ATTRACTION, they must be willing to "push the envelope." Instead, TROIS along with a series of other recent independently produced sexual thrillers insist on playing it safe by toning down the sex and the more provocative elements in their films. For what reason, who knows? Hopefully, some other filmmaker will "step up to the plate" and really deal with Black sexuality rather than skirt around it. On a positive note, despite it's many flaws, TROIS is still better than Rob Hardy's anemic first feature, CHOCOLATE CITY. The film is also to be commended for its small scale, but reasonably effective grass-roots marketing champaign. As a gesture in support of Black independent films, I have delayed submission of this critique until the film has all but left the theatres. For those who haven't seen it, check it out on video and share your own views with the moviegoing public.
5 out of 11 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
5/10
Strange but entertaining
dominique_198627 January 2002
Warning: Spoilers
I seen Trois last summer and I thought the movie was pretty good.The acting wasn't Academy Award winning,but somewhat suitable.This movie contained one too many spoilers.First the not so raunchy love scenes could have been worked on more to make it look realistic and at the same time,steamy.Next,Kenya Moore's role was so stupid.Why in the hell would she except an offer like that from her husband and then gets mad when she finds a videotape of her husband and some other woman in her car doing it?Her character was so unrealistic and unconvincing.Next,the role of the husband played by Gary Dourdan was so cold,Gretchen Palmer's character was okay and Solomon K. Smith's character was probably the most dumbest of them all.He was so wacky and just as unrealistic and unconvincing as Kenya Moore's character.And the twist.There were way too many twist in the story.The characters,the sex scenes,and the confusing twist could have been more complex.Would I recommend this to anyone?WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!! 5 OUT OF 10
1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
1/10
Dreadful, not what I was expecting at all
Leparsdon20 January 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Saw this film off Netflx thinking it was something else entirely; I mean with a name like "Trois" one would expect something beyond one sex scene and barely any interaction between the two main characters.

First it starts off with a husband wanting to fulfill a fantasy with his wife and another woman, after sometime the wife relents and through a friend of the husband, he finds a woman willing to be the third person. Well after a weekend of "hanging out" to get his wife comfortable with the other woman, they have their night of fun and thats apparently the end of the "Trois"

Then this film takes a completely different turn, with the husband being unjustifiably horrendous to the other woman and still not giving his wife any attention. From there you have snakes, weird font letters, egged cars, slashed tires and a video of him having sex with another woman earlier in their marriage. This all leads to a showdown with her abusive ex boyfriend, who was posing as her husband's friends the entire film, and somehow a gunshot wound to her sides, leads to her being paralyzed from the waist down and in a wheelchair. Oh yeah, they also get a divorce.

Bottom line, DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME!
5 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Cheap thrills and guilty pleasures
jbratter-216 February 2001
Trois is a sexy thriller about the before and after-math of a threesome (two girls and a guy). The participants are a young Black married couple in Atlanta who seek to spice up their love life and an openly bisexual woman who wants to keep custody of her son. This film admirably attempts to explore the complex dynamics of monogamous sexuality, from sexual preference to sexual power. The gravest downfall is the attempt to combine too many twists and turns that don't pay off or gel well with the story's initial tone.
6 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
1/10
absolute garbage
TOXIC-714 December 2001
This is absolutely the worst film I've ever seen. Not only does it

contain some of the worst acting, dialogue and directing ever

burned onto celluloid, it is nothing but pure trash. It amazes me that money was actually used to fund this project. I can't imagine how anybody thought this was something worth

making based on the horrendous script and premise. Soloman K. Smith delivers probably the worst performance in

history as does Gretchen Palmer. This is embarassing. NEVER EVER watch this movie.
11 out of 17 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
2/10
Utter crap unfortunately
Rob-7718 February 2003
This movie was so painfully bad, that despite all my better judgment I actually made it through to the end. All that can go wrong in a movie did- utterly terrible acting, predictable ending, discontinuity, did I mention that my dog can do a better performance? Finally, for a movie whose title is quite obvious in meaning, the actual "trios" is over in about 30 seconds, shot in what seems like soft focus and barely warrants the rating the film got.

I highly recommend this film if you have obnoxious family members visiting (or friends), who refuse to leave your home, as a last ditch effort to retain your sanity.

2 out of 10.
5 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
1/10
This movie sucks
rebel02-23 April 2001
Despite going into this movie with reasonable expectations, this is got to be one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my life. This was the first time I actually considered asking for my money back. Even though I knew a few people associated with the film, that still did not make it any better. Everything about this movie, from the acting to the writing to the directing was just plain bad.
3 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
4/10
Spice up - at least try
kosmasp18 June 2022
Gretchen Palmer does not deserve this - although some may feel different seeing her try to act in this. I do believe I have seen her being way better than here - no pun intended. Must be a combination of script and set conditions I imagine.

Sometimes you also have to take on roles, you do not really believe in - just to pay the rent. Might have been one of those situations. Interestingly enough, this seems to have been succesful enough to spur 2 sequels. Both showing way more skin than this does. Which I didn't mind by the way - it is the acting and the dialog that is so cringeworthy, that it almost hurts physically.

So never mind the erotic scenes where all the "best" parts are covered. "Clothed" scenes can be quite erotic too - and I would argue the main love scene is just that. The scene that seemingly gets the whole thing going on. The whole thing that could have been avoided, if ... but the last twist almost kind of saves the whole movie. Still even that never really reaches any height it imagines it does.
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
8/10
Best Black Sexual Thriller I've Seen
ava-815 December 1999
I caught this film at the Acapulco Black Film Fest. I think Trois successfully captures something that we rarely see on the big screen --Black sexuality. It's not raunchy, but not tame by any means. It doesn't take itself too seriously, but delves deeply into the politics of marriage, fidelity and lust. And there is a cool, unexpected twist at the end ala Fatal Attraction. I liked it. Kenya Moore and Gretchen Palmer are beautiful. And the men are wonderful... two of the hottest looking Black actors out there -- Gary Dourdan and Bryce Wilson. I hear this comes out Valentine's Day 2000 or somewhere around there. I'd recommend checking it out.
3 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
On a budget of 200k, you can't beat this film.
FyreAndRain3 September 2005
Warning: Spoilers
First, the bad: 1) The movie is mis-marketed by the packaging. There is a lot more to Trois than just the complications arising from the forbidden three-way tryst. The movie becomes a mystery/thriller/suspense and the shift is almost disconcerting if all you have to go on is the box art.

2) The lighting sucks and the camera work is simplistic. The filmmakers are young and had a small budget and it shows in these two areas. The lighting often makes the viewer feel they've mistakenly changed channels to a daytime soap opera and the camera work (with the exception of the excellent opening "home video" scenes) is nothing to boast about.

3) There are about three times in the film that the delivery of a certain line fails completely, and is so bad that it nearly sinks the entire scene in which it appears.

4) Is the number of sets used. Literally. Two houses, an office, and a bar. Four sets. That's about it.

Now, the good: 1) Excellent acting. The lead for this role does a fantastic job playing a young, ambitious, newlywed husband. All of the additional characters are strong. Every main character has at least one chance to really shine dramatically and they all step up to the challenge. A lame performance never ruins a scene, and the dialogue is (for the most part) delivered convincingly in a natural way.

2) Superb production value: "but wait a minute, you just said there were four sets and the lighting sucked!" True, but the budget for this film was $200k. If you handed $200k to the Steven Spielberg or James Cameron, I'm willing to bet they couldn't have managed half of the things this movie does on a shoestring. It's an excellent effort and the results they got for their money are astounding.

3) An intriguing, original plot. The story, which starts out relatively simple, takes a couple of twists and turns that actually create a complex web of confusion and deceit that makes the story work.

4) An excellent, tasteful sex scene. If you bought this movie hoping for porn, you'll be let down. The sex shots are tight, sensual, and mature. They propel the story forward and do justice to the topic without glamourizing it or taking the focus off the story to focus on the sex.

In short: if you feel like lately you've sat through one too many summer 'blockbusters' with the same old hackneyed plots, huge effects, and zero heart, this might be the movie you're looking for. Or if you laughed all the way through "Love and a Bullet" and thought it was excellent, you might like this one.
6 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Had a lot of potential
bgva25 April 2001
One of my friends rented this movie last year. Honestly, being an NC-17, we naturally expected more than what we saw. The scenes in this movie weren't enough to get an R rating. The plot was good, and it was a good script. However, the performances were poorly executed. The actress who played the wife was dull and dry with the delivery of her lines. However, the ending had a great twist, and this was a good film, especially being on such a low budget, but some of the acting was low budget as well. A 5 at most.
9 out of 14 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
10/10
great thriller
ssf-116-32056925 September 2014
One of the best thrillers I've ever seen. Intense edge of your seat action thats guaranteed to make you jump. Don't listen to negative reviews watch it for yourself. In fact this movie is so good I purchased a copy to own. This is a water cooler conversation type movie. And for those folks who were thinking about a menage trois, this movie will make you think twice.three. hell even four times before asking your spouse for one. I like Kenya Moore from Housewives but had no idea that was her in Trois. She a pretty good actress. Makes you want to check out some of her other work. If you saw the movie The Firm and liked the action type thrills in that movie then you'll love the thrills in Trois, Rent a copy then buy a copy,
0 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
Kenya is beautiful
charleen-2440627 August 2020
I'm a fan of Kenya Moore from RHOA & it was great to see her younger. She's always been beautiful. In terms of the movie, I think the storyline was really good but the acting was a bit poor and their were too many tropes. I feel like if a Jordan Peele redid this without the comical scenes, it would be really good
1 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Terrible
kenandraf12 August 2001
Very badly made film in terms of directing,screenplay,script and acting.It does not even have much originality as it is a rip off of FATAL ATTRACTION.Still,it could have been much better in it's promise to be a good sexual thriller but alas,the movie was just handled poorly.Yes,the lead actors were very good looking but they had very amateurish skills,just like the poor skills of the movie makers around them.Avoid this one at all cost......
3 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
10/10
The dangers of a threesome.
chraluns16 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
So, a husband talks his wife into having a threesome. The third wheel loses custody of her son. She gets framed for harassing the couple. Turns out it was the wife's ex boyfriend who followed her and pretended to be his friend. He tries to kill the husband to try to get his ex gf to love him again. The 3rd wheel shoots him dead. This is a very good movie. 2000 had a lot of them. Sometimes indies can be the best movies. This movie is proof. Not many know about this film, but if you do get to experience it, your life will change Moral of the story: be careful of your desires. They can come with a great cost.
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
A step in the right direction
lwh18 May 2000
I must admit that when I sat down in the movie theater to see "Trois" I didn't quite know what to expect. What with a title like "Trois" which is short for ménage à trois, I was preparing myself to both be shocked and a little thrilled at the love scenes. While I did get that thrilling love scene that I was expecting I also got much more, the chance to see black folk in a complex movie role. I have grown tired of us always being cast as the comedian or the bad person on the silver screen and this movie is a breath of fresh air in that it explores one on one relationships between black folk. While this movie left a lot to be desired in the area of cinematography and acting, it is the right step toward more black dramas. We've got to start somewhere.
3 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
This is the worst movie ever
kgtjz2 April 2021
Let's start off with Kenya Moore her acting is trash. This is the only movie that I am aware of that she has more than two lines, like her other "acting gigs" Kenya provides a classless trashy reflection on how we all know her from RHOA episode. But because she thinks she can act so she'll take any ghetto hood or trash role just to stay "relevant' don't pay to watch this.

It's truly a waste of money and just proves my point she can't act!

The script was trash and basic The camera was not in focus or something because it looked blurry at or I should say not in focus! It definitely wasn't my 70" smart tv or maybe because it's 21 years old I don't know!

Two thumbs down and no stars.
1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Great suspense/erotic triller
flixbiz19 March 2000
The film was tastefully shot, well written, directed and acted. I'm assuming that Rain Forest Productions elected to distribute it themselves for business reasons and not for the lack of wider distribution opportunities. If a film of this quality was not offered major distribution, then independent producers are in big trouble! For this quality on a $200K budget, there must have been major deferrals and freebies! Keep up the good work.
1 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Horrible Movie
dredscott13 August 2001
I rented this movie with several friends without any expectations. This movie wasn't worth the price of a rental. The acting, writing, directing and cinematography were all bad. With the exception of Gretchen Palmer, the rest of the cast was so bad you would think they weren't professionals. Wait! Kenya Moore is not a professional actor. Well, that explains it. I've seen many Black-made independent films that were of much higher quality and touched on subjects that we often ignore so this film has no excuse. Please don't waste your time with this movie.
1 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Damn. That's all I can say.
Illusia20 November 2002
This movie was horrible. I should know, since I've sat through it multiple times. There really is no strong plot to speak of. It's pretty much just soft core porn.

The ONLY reason I can see for watching this movie at all is Gary Dourdan. That man looks so right, he should be wrong. Damn fine. If you like Warrick, from CSI:Crime Scene Investigations, then rent this movie or catch it on late night cable, cause, Damn.

That is all.
1 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
It's About More than Sex. It's about trust
lewissidley11 October 2002
Gary Dourdan portrays Jermaine Davis a young atlanta lawyer who is having maritial difficulties so he persuades . He has a law partner in his office named either Terrance or Eric, played bo Sol Smith Jade Owens (gretchen palmer) to have a threesome with his wife Jasmine Davis portraued by Kenya Moore. Meanwhile , things are going on after the night for 3 , everything is going completely sour. And Jermaine Davis immediately is blamind Jade OWnens for the Difficulty, Jade CONSTATNLY denies being responsible for it all, [While in a custody battle for her son] Once again, as in Rollerball 2002, and Glitter 2001, i am in complete disconcurrence with the critics. PS - The ending is harrowing. And disturbing.

**** out of *****
1 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Waste of an hour and a half
pbautsag22 November 2001
This movie was an outrageous waste of time. The acting was either over the top or totally flat. The plot twists had nothing to do with the actual theme of the movie and the plot itself just seemed to drag along going nowhere until the end. Also, why did the wife stick with her perverted husband for so long after she knew he was an unfaithful pig? She seemed too smart to be that naive. A woman that fine deserves better (Hey, I'm single!). The only bright spot in the whole movie was Kenya Moore and not for acting, but because she is so beautiful. I don't want to sound like a pervert, but why did her husband in this movie need to have another woman when his wife had a rack like that? She is my dream wife and would be more than enough to satisfy me. My advice is don't waste your time with this movie; the plot makes no sense, the acting was at best mediocre, and the love scenes were too tame.
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Recently Viewed