Who is Theo in Your Place or Mine? With the release of the popular Netflix rom-com, we assess one of the supporting characters.
Your Place or Mine is another frothy Netflix romantic comedy directed, produced, and written by Aline Brosh McKenna, who also wrote The Devil Wears Prada.
Reese Witherspoon, who also stars in the film with Ashton Kutcher, is also an executive producer on the project through her own production company Hello Sunshine.
Kutcher makes a return to Netflix after his popular sitcom The Ranch finished in 2020 and stars as trendy New York writer Peter, long-time best friends with Witherspoon’s Debbie, and they find, through a convenient set of circumstances, that they can switch places for a bit, so Peter looks after divorced Debbie’s teenage son in LA, while she takes on his loose and exciting city slicker lifestyle in New York.
A chance encounter finds Debbie in the company of Theo Martin, and things begin to escalate from there, so with Theo being so pivotal in the film, we thought we would have a closer look at what happens, so we can ascertain just who exactly is Theo in Your Place or Mine?
Who is Theo in Your Place or Mine?
Theo, full name Theo Martin, provides a love interest to Debbie, who arrives in New York to attend a class to help her gain her degree. While there, she bumps into Minka, who used to be in a relationship with bestie Peter.
It is while Minka and Debbie are out to have drinks that they happen across Theo and a teacher from Debbie’s institute. Debbie is a huge fan of Theo and is over the moon to meet him, feeling he is one of the greatest literary editors in America. Theo is also the editor-in-chief of Duncan Publishing.
Who plays Theo in Your Place or Mine?
Actor Jesse Williams portrays Theo Martin in this production, and you may recognize him from a few previous screen outings. Williams is known for bringing the role of Doctor Jackson Avery to life in the long-running, angst-filled, gut-wrenching pseudo-soap opera Grey’s Anatomy.
In 2020 he was nominated for an Academy Award for the short film Two Distant Strangers, for which he also acted as executive producer on. Jesse also appears in the 2022 kid-friendly, dollar-store Iron-Man superhero comedy fluff ball, Secret Headquarters, with Owen Wilson.
Why is Theo important?
So it appears that Theo is really the catalyst for some self-realization that both Debbie and Peter have over the course of the movie. Debbie has a bit of a spontaneous relationship with Theo, and of course, this leads to a third-act character arc for Debbie.
Theo offers her a job in LA and also wants to take their relationship to the next level, an offer that causes Debbie to stop and think about her true feelings. It seems that Theo is very keen to be with Debbie, but this revelation forces Debbie to re-evaluate what she actually wants.
READ: Movies like Your Place or Mine
Without completely spoiling this whole film for you, Theo is pivotal in the final decisions made by our leads and brings about the inevitable conclusion to this story that you may or may not see coming if you have watched any rom-coms over the last twenty-five years.
I imagine that you probably already know what happens, and that doesn’t make this a bad film. If you enjoy this genre, then you will probably find a lot here to entertain you, but at a closer inspection, you might be able to see where it is all leading.
