Remaking the ‘70s sitcom Three’s Company into a modern feature film has to be one of Hollywood’s most questionable ideas. Sure, they’ve made movies out of other old sitcoms like The Beverly Hillbillies, McHale’s Navy, and Car 54, Where Are You?, but could Three’s Company really be any worse?
Well, if Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, and Drew Barrymore had their way, it could definitely get more bizarre. The trio reportedly named Three’s Company as a project they’d love to collaborate on in 2023, but not without raising some serious red flags before even starting.
For one, Aniston flat-out refused to play Janet. Why? Apparently, she couldn’t get behind the short hairdo that defined the character. Yikes.
Then there’s Sandler, who admitted he couldn’t pull off playing Jack Tripper. “I’d have to be like… Jimmy Tripper,” he said, though he left us hanging on exactly who this “Jimmy” would be. A slacker cousin? A quirky uncle? An entirely new version of Jack, but more in sweats and less in charm?
And it gets more complicated from there. Aniston insisted that their take wouldn’t be a shot-for-shot remake of the original. “It’s going to be in the spirit of it,” she said, hinting that Janet might end up sporting a Friends-era Rachel Green haircut. Sure, that’s “creative,” but it seems like a stretch to call it Three’s Company when the characters seem more like placeholders for Hollywood A-listers than actual renditions of the original roles.
Now, Three’s Company was a comedy classic in its day, but in today’s world, the show’s premise doesn’t hold up. For anyone who’s not familiar with the original: the basic plot was that Janet and Chrissy need a third roommate to help with rent after their current roommate moves out. Enter Jack, a guy who has trouble finding any place to stay—unless it’s the YMCA. He’s not exactly their type, but they agree to let him move in. The twist? Their landlords, the Ropers, have strict rules against unmarried couples living together, so Jack has to pretend to be gay in order to stay without causing trouble.
The problem with that setup today is that it’s based on a premise that feels incredibly outdated and just doesn’t make sense anymore, even in a “spirit” version. A 2023 update would probably have to change the entire dynamic just to make it relevant.
Sure, Bewitched (a 2005 movie remake of the classic sitcom) tried something similar with Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell, where one of the running jokes was how weird it was that they were starring in a sitcom reboot. It was strange, but it didn’t have much staying power—mainly because the script and jokes were weak. So unless this Three’s Company remake has a killer script, it might suffer the same fate: a quirky, star-studded cast that just doesn’t land.
It’s hard to shake the feeling that a 2020s version of Three’s Company would be more of an oddity than a hit. The concept of a bunch of young adults struggling to afford rent while living in a cramped apartment is still relatable, but the awkwardness and societal norms of pretending to be gay just to secure a roof over your head might not hold up to modern sensibilities. Maybe that’s why Aniston and Sandler are looking to “rework” the idea—but no matter what they do, it still sounds like a gamble.
