Monogamy

'Monogamy' No MPAA rating Running time: 1 hour, 36 minutes Playing: At Laemmle's Sunset 5, West Hollywood; Laemmle's Playhouse 7, Pasadena

Re "Untangling the evolutionary roots of monogamy," May 29 Humans are not monogamous. Among others, Islamic and traditional Mormon societies practice polygamy. Osama bin Laden had several wives, and Mitt Romney's ancestors moved to Mexico to practice polygamy after the U.S. government forced Utah to stop it. Bob Marley had 11 children by several different women; I've had three wives and several girlfriends. Although many societies impose monogamy, it has not evolved.

Re "Untangling the evolutionary roots of monogamy," May 29 Humans are not monogamous. Among others, Islamic and traditional Mormon societies practice polygamy. Osama bin Laden had several wives, and Mitt Romney's ancestors moved to Mexico to practice polygamy after the U.S. government forced Utah to stop it. Bob Marley had 11 children by several different women; I've had three wives and several girlfriends. Although many societies impose monogamy, it has not evolved.

About five years ago, Rashida Jones was seriously mulling a departure from acting. She had gone from a flourishing stage career at Harvard University to one unrewarding audition after another in New York, and she was tired of the grind. She decided to pursue a graduate degree in public policy. "I got the application and everything," Jones said. "And then the role on 'The Office' happened. " That part, as a love interest of John Krasinski's Jim Halpert, ensured that Jones wouldn't be studying qualitative statistics and the new public health movement soon.

If you ever thought the peekaboo ominousness of "Blow-Up" or "The Conversation" could be the template for a relationship fidelity drama, "Monogamy" is your movie. Set in New York, director/co-writer Dana Adam Shapiro's small-scale indie ? his first narrative feature after the acclaimed documentary "Murderball" ? charts the obsessive neurosis of Theo (Chris Messina), a wedding photographer whose arty side project is being hired by clients to take their picture unwittingly in on-the-street situations.

In his Nov. 22 Times Op-Ed article, "Monogamy isn't easy, naturally," biologist David P. Barash claims that because monogamy is rare in the animal world, it is therefore unnatural behavior for humans. The logic of the argument is critically flawed. In stating that dedication to a single individual is "against" human nature and that no one is "cut out for monogamy," Barash fails to recognize that the human is unlike any other creature on the planet. Comparing our behavior patterns to birds or animals may, at times, prove helpful in understanding our species, but it should not be used to determine what is and what is not "natural" for humans.

Right-wing pro-marriage advocates are correct: Monogamy is definitely under siege. But not from uncloseted polyamorists, adolescent "hook-up" advocates, radical feminists, Godless communists or some vast homosexual conspiracy. The culprit is our own biology. Researchers in animal behavior have long known that monogamy is uncommon in the natural world, but only with the advent of DNA "fingerprinting" have we come to appreciate how truly rare it is. Genetic testing has recently shown that even among many bird species -- long touted as the epitome of monogamous fidelity -- it is not uncommon for 6% to 60% of the young to be fathered by someone other than the mother's social partner.

In "Monogamy," Israeli-born actress Meital Dohan receives top billing for a movie in which she doesn't speak and is only referred to as Subgirl, an e-mail handle. All that's seen of her is what's captured through the lens of Theo (Chris Messina), the photographer protagonist, who unwittingly finds himself chasing this sexually adventurous woman. She is a silent enigma, the one thing standing between an engaged man and monogamy. "The character is a fantasy," Dohan said, perched on a white sofa in her sunny Los Angeles home.

About five years ago, Rashida Jones was seriously mulling a departure from acting. She had gone from a flourishing stage career at Harvard University to one unrewarding audition after another in New York, and she was tired of the grind. She decided to pursue a graduate degree in public policy. "I got the application and everything," Jones said. "And then the role on 'The Office' happened. " That part, as a love interest of John Krasinski's Jim Halpert, ensured that Jones wouldn't be studying qualitative statistics and the new public health movement soon.

Re "Straight Arrows" (May 3): Hugh O'Neill's interpretation of what the Bible says about lust is misleading and inaccurate. He says, "When the guys who wrote the Bible made lust one of the seven deadly sins, they were talking about bad lust. . . . I'm talking about good lust." Jesus Christ made no such distinction in Matthew 5:28: "Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." O'Neill further advises men that, "The feelings are not a problem; acting on them is. It's perfectly OK to covet thy neighbor's wife."

'Monogamy' No MPAA rating Running time: 1 hour, 36 minutes Playing: At Laemmle's Sunset 5, West Hollywood; Laemmle's Playhouse 7, Pasadena

In "Monogamy," Israeli-born actress Meital Dohan receives top billing for a movie in which she doesn't speak and is only referred to as Subgirl, an e-mail handle. All that's seen of her is what's captured through the lens of Theo (Chris Messina), the photographer protagonist, who unwittingly finds himself chasing this sexually adventurous woman. She is a silent enigma, the one thing standing between an engaged man and monogamy. "The character is a fantasy," Dohan said, perched on a white sofa in her sunny Los Angeles home.

If you ever thought the peekaboo ominousness of "Blow-Up" or "The Conversation" could be the template for a relationship fidelity drama, "Monogamy" is your movie. Set in New York, director/co-writer Dana Adam Shapiro's small-scale indie ? his first narrative feature after the acclaimed documentary "Murderball" ? charts the obsessive neurosis of Theo (Chris Messina), a wedding photographer whose arty side project is being hired by clients to take their picture unwittingly in on-the-street situations.

It's been a long time since Peter and Bobby Farrelly, the onetime wunderkind kings of juvenile comedy, ruled the genre. "Dumb & Dumber," the doofus classic that defined a dorm-room generation, was released back in 1994, and the brothers' last bona fide hit, "Shallow Hal," opened nearly a decade ago. Now Peter, 54, and Bobby, 52, are attempting a comeback by exploring more, er, adult problems. This weekend they open "Hall Pass," their first R-rated comedy in 11 years, about two friends whose wives give them permission to cavort like single men for one week.

In his Nov. 22 Times Op-Ed article, "Monogamy isn't easy, naturally," biologist David P. Barash claims that because monogamy is rare in the animal world, it is therefore unnatural behavior for humans. The logic of the argument is critically flawed. In stating that dedication to a single individual is "against" human nature and that no one is "cut out for monogamy," Barash fails to recognize that the human is unlike any other creature on the planet. Comparing our behavior patterns to birds or animals may, at times, prove helpful in understanding our species, but it should not be used to determine what is and what is not "natural" for humans.

Right-wing pro-marriage advocates are correct: Monogamy is definitely under siege. But not from uncloseted polyamorists, adolescent "hook-up" advocates, radical feminists, Godless communists or some vast homosexual conspiracy. The culprit is our own biology. Researchers in animal behavior have long known that monogamy is uncommon in the natural world, but only with the advent of DNA "fingerprinting" have we come to appreciate how truly rare it is. Genetic testing has recently shown that even among many bird species -- long touted as the epitome of monogamous fidelity -- it is not uncommon for 6% to 60% of the young to be fathered by someone other than the mother's social partner.

Patterns of divorce have remained surprisingly constant in almost every culture, suggesting that there may be a biological explanation for why people divorce. Helen Fisher, an associate anthropologist at the American Museum of Natural History, said patterns she identified may have existed throughout much of human history, had acceptance of divorce been as high as it is today. "Given the number of variations and cultural differences, it is amazing that there is any pattern at all," Fisher said.

As a college professor of theater and drama, I appreciated Laurie Winer's laudatory review of "The Real Thing" (" 'Real Thing' Has Right Stuff," Jan. 20). The play is both emotionally resonant and intellectually challenging, two qualities too rarely wed so comfortably in a single work. However, I take exception to her assessment of Jeff Allin's performance as Henry the playwright as "problematic." Far from being the insecure "sad sack" of Winer's description, Allin commands the stage with physical vitality when required and with exquisite verbal timing in his character's more reflective moments.

Welcome to the war zone, otherwise known as a school day. For thirtysomething Brit mum Jane (Bess Meyer, alternating with Mina Badie), just making breakfast for her preteen daughters Jess (Phoebe James) and Betty (Abigail Revasch) is like a dawn raid in Fallouja. In "Mammals," Amelia Bullmore's sharply observed and thoroughly compelling dramedy at the Lost Studio, it can be hard to tell the difference between love and mere survival. When husband Kev (Adrian Neil, alternating with James Donovan)

Most likely, "Kinsey" didn't get nominated for a best picture Academy Award because of the story it told: Guy meets girl, guy marries girl, guy does pioneering research into human sexuality (this is where his Oscar chances began to go south) and discovers that sex is more than an expression of love between a man and a woman, it's multi-variant -- a host of desires that, whether acted upon or not, are not necessarily less moral than straight, monogamous, federally funded married sex.