Two young people in a convenience store. He asks Siri about the caloric difference between two snacks. She chimes in that he could just read the bags. Realizing that they’ve met before, he asks her out, but she won’t say yes until after the results of the pregnancy test she’s buying. This is the meet-cute in Mark, Mary, & Some Other People, and it’s adorable in its own way.

A year later, madly in love and married, one of them brings up the idea of trying ethical non-monogamy. Hilarity and headache ensue. Needless to say, this isn’t exactly your traditional romantic comedy, but it is a (mostly) fun one.

The trick with a good romantic comedy is in the leads actors. In this case, both Ben Rosenfield and Hayley Law are entirely charming and believable as the young couple madly in love. They are quickly established as unique and interesting and more than just one-note stereotypes, and it helps that each of them is very funny. Their chemistry together is superb, and ultimately that’s what a rom-com needs to succeed.

Hannah Marks has a distinct voice as a writer and director as well, and as the story progresses, the characters behave exactly as you might expect a couple in the real world to behave rather than those in a happy go lucky rom-com. The ending isn’t exactly happy, but it feels awkward and messy and real and true, which goes a long way with this reviewer.

Mark, Mary, & Some Other People does not reinvent the wheel, but it does bring something a little more progressive and modern to the genre and that, I think, you’ll find refreshing.

Mark, Mary & Some Other People played as part of the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival

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