You love your partner, right? But what would you do if you were suddenly given the chance to trade him or her in for the upgraded 2.0 version? You know, the kind of mate that writes you poetry just because, never forgets a birthday or anniversary and somehow has a fully prepared meal waiting for you on the table every day when you get home?
That's actually one of the questions raised by the new movie The One I Love (release date August 22 — today!), a sci-fi/rom-com hybrid about a couple that on the brink of separation agrees to go to a country retreat recommended by their therapist (Ted Danson) in a last-ditch effort to save their marriage.
What they don't know [WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD] is that in the guest house on the property, each partner would encounter basically a clone of their spouse, but one who embodied the traits they thought they wished their real-life partner actually displayed.
And that’s when things get interesting…
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When they found out the person they were engaging with in the other house was not really their spouse, Sophie (Elizabeth Moss) and Ethan (Mark Duplass) decide to explore things with this imagined version of a more-perfect partner (which they can only see if they go into the guest house alone).
The interesting thing is that over the course of the weekend, Ethan — who cheated on his wife previously and has a sort of Stepford version of her in the guest house –starts to miss the "real" Sophie. She, on the other hand, starts to fall for the upgraded romantic version of her husband.
We won't ruin the rest of the film for you. But it did, however, make us think. If given the chance to trade in a current partner for an upgraded version, what would most people do? With that in mind, we ran an unofficial survey posing just that question and the results were definitely mixed. Here are some of the comments we got:
1.) "Flaws and all, I wouldn't trade my husband in for anyone in the world."
~ Ellery, 34, Queens, N.Y.
2.) "For me…it depends on the day!"
~ Laura, 40, Bentonville, Arkansas
3.) "If I changed even one thing in my man, it wouldn't be the man I fell in love with."
~ Sara, 37, Rabat, Morocco
4.) "My wife drives me crazy, but I drive her crazy too. Maybe we're just crazy about each other."
~ Joel, 58, New York, N.Y.
5.) "I'm sure my 'perfect' man may change with time, but honestly who wouldn't want that partner who constantly validates you and mirrors your beliefs and ways of life in general?"
~ Mia, 40, Huntington, N.Y.
6.) "I believe God brought us together for a reason and I would not change a thing about my husband."
~ Cherie, 47, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
7.) "I wouldn't change a thing — my life and my wife challenge me everyday, which is why I push myself to be a better man, father and husband."
~ Rommy, 45, New York, NY
8.) "No trade! There is too much to learn and love with my wife — anything other than who she is would be imperfect yet who she is now is perfect."
~ Kris, 39, Los Angeles, California
9.) "No! Even though he occasionally drives me crazy, our acceptance of each other is what makes our relationship strong."
~ Molly, 34, Ashtabula, Ohio
10.) "No way man. I love my guy. Plus, if he were perfect he'd look at me and be like 'Oh crap! I'm outta here!'"
~ Amy, 38, San Francisco, California
Ah, love. Ain't it grand?
How about you? Would you trade your signifcant other for the upgraded model?
Image © iStock.com/Kuzuma and via Radius TWC
