i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

Best movie ever!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,

I have seen this movie twice and liked it both times. It is a subtle movie that feels so real as we all probably have been confronted with these feelings in a long term relationship. It is a succinct little slice of reality...so much so that it really makes you think and perhaps feel a bit uneasy as you transport yourself into their reality. The acting was fantastic and very real. I was impressed by both lead actors. I only wish it lasted longer. I would classify this as a romantic drama, not a comedy. Glad to see Dad Shepard in a dramatic role. I think he shines in this arena. I would like to see more of him as his acting style is natural, which is nice to watch. Nonetheless, I think it is a must see, especially for couples.

I'm gonna keep this short: I was impressed with the camera work as it told the story very well. Every shot made me feel more uncomfortable with the subject matter, which is the unrealistic notion that a night off from a stagnant (routine) marriage is the key to rejuvenation. I can't help but think of Dr. Tobias Funke saying, "no, it never works for them...but it could work for us!" It doesn't, it can't and it won't. This story is told very well. I love Katie on the League, and Dax is pretty much playing the same character he does on Parenthood. It works. I would have liked to see a better supporting cast, but the girl from Altamont Now is good. I hope to see her in do more, but I have yet to get thru Blue Mountain State. Thanks for reading.

Sometimes, or is it all the time, it seems like the people in charge of selling a movie are working directly in opposition to the original intents and artistic dreams of the actual creative people who make movies. I know that it's the job of distributors to get people to watch a movie they're putting out, I guess by any means necessary. But if they create an ad campaign, a movie poster, or DVD box art which is deliberately misleading as to the actual content of the movie, isn't that just going to either tick or turn people off? Seriously, if you create a sexy, silly cover for an ambitious, serious film, either you're going to a.)disappoint the people attracted to such a cover when they don't get what they were looking for or b.)keep people who would actually like such a film from ever renting it, or c.) both. For example, this film. I didn't watch it, and had no real interest in watching it, essentially based on the cover art and title. (I mean, sure, I was not exactly jazzed to check out the newest Dax Shepard vehicle either, but more on that later...) The title, the tagline, and the cutesy cover with stars Shepard and Katie Aselton all wrapped up in a blanket and giving us a comically-cute 'oops!' look makes it look like a lowbrow, cheesy romantic comedy, and the premise (unhappy couple decides to give each other the titular 'freebie' one-night stand with someone else apiece) is the stuff of lousy guy comedies (see last year's Hall Pass, etc.) But, since I had an undeniably-too-cool-not-to-tell reason to actually watch the thing (I got to interview star/director/writer Aselton) and I have to say The Freebie is really, really good. In addition to starring in this (and the very funny series 'The League'), Aselton is married to indie filmmaker (and co-father of the so-called 'mumblecore' movement) Mark Duplass, and in this, her directorial debut, she shows a real affinity for that genre's improvisational, conversational and emotionally-raw style, and creates a smart, legitimately moving examination of one couple's misguided attempt to sort out their relationship. Shepard and Aselton play Darren and Annie, a genuinely-happy, compulsively-honest couple who admit, one night, that their sex life has become routine. And so the 'one-night stand' plan. What's truly impressive is how organically the premise gets introduced; the two actors so ably create a very specifically-believable couple that you go along with their reasoning, even though you are pretty sure they're making a terrible mistake. That's a credit to the two actors, in more ways than one. I noticed that there are no writing credits listed for The Freebie on IMDb, and none in the movie itself, and Aselton confirmed to me on the phone (that's the last time I name drop, I promise), that, while she wrote her film's outline, the entire thing was improvised. And, while Aselton's background in the mumblecore genre, and the improv-heavy 'The League' reveals that she's got the chops for such an undertaking (and she is heartbreaking, winning, and lovely), the real revelation is Shepard. You might recognize him from comedies of such variable quality as Let's Go to Prison, Idiocracy, Without a Paddle, and Baby Mama, but absolutely nothing in his previous work suggested he could pull something like this off. As the two go through their painful journey into sexual adventurousness and, maybe, back again, the two actors make us care, and empathize, every step of the way, with Aselton's sure hand behind the camera providing sensitive, sure guidance. I popped this DVD in, honestly, out of a sense of obligation and, largely thanks to how it was marketed, absolutely no expectations whatsoever. I finished it with a continued respect for Aselton, a newfound one for Shepard, and a reaffirmed belief that movie marketing is headed up, by and large, by a team of trained chimps with cocaine habits. Ignore the cover, watch the movie.

"The Freebie" is about a couple who decide to give each other one free night off from their marriage. It sounds like the upcoming Owen Wilson comedy "Hall Pass"(2011), except in this case it's not a comedy. At least I don't think it's a comedy. It has been marketed as one but I don't think it was the filmmaker's intention.Instead of cheap laughs, we get a very personal, introspective look into one couple's relationship. Dax Shepard and director Katie Aselton play Darren and Annie who claim that they have the best relationship—with open communication and complete honesty. The film doesn't just tell us they are open and honest but we see it, and experience it, for ourselves. They are more open and honest than I imagine most real life couples ever could be.The question of, "is there such thing as too honest?" comes up when Darren expresses to Annie that he sometimes has a desire to sleep with somebody else. Since they are so confident with what they have, they foresee no problems with each other having a freebie. The film actually finds a way to explore this set-up in a fairly interesting way. I was very curious with the fate of their relationship and I wanted to see how it would get there.I was a bit concerned that there was no comedy, and there was nothing else to the story, but I think they came up with a new way to tell the same old story—a story about sex, but without resorting to showing us sexy stars in naked poses. Instead, we just got a very naked, raw examination of a relationship. "The Freebie" is definitely worth a look if that sounds interesting to you.