Katie Aselton wrote, directed, and stars in The Freebie, opposite Dax Shepard. They play a married couple, Darren and Annie, who agree to allow each “a one night stand” to spice up their life after seven years of marriage. “Maybe being with one person for the rest of your life isn’t natural at all,” wonders an off-screen voice. The film premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, generating positive buzz. It seems like one of those quiet, subtle, low-budget indie films with a small but dedicated cast, allowing for a deep and sincere exploration of, in this case, sex and fidelity.
Sundance’s website has interviews with Aselton and Shepard. And in case you’re wondering, the song featured in the trailer is “Wolves in the Garden” by The Deadly Syndrome.
The film is interestingly timed with a new book by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha called Sex at Dawn . The basic argument of the book is that humans are not naturally monogamous and instead designed to find “extra-pair copulatory partners” — sequel partners outside of your relationship — to spread one’s genes, which seems to fit with the concepts explored in The Freebie.
The Freebie hits limited theaters this Friday, August 27th.