Mary Jane’s Not a Virgin Anymore

Jane swears off relationships and sex after the party because her first experience with Steve was uncomfortable and far from magical. She asked him to stop mid-coitus, and the party conversations exposed the complicated, often judged nature of sexual relationships among her coworkers. The revelation that the staff bet on people's relationship outcomes added to her disillusionment, making her want to focus on solitude and self-discovery instead.

Earlier at the party, coworkers openly discussed their past sexual experiences and the betting culture, which plant seeds of doubt in Jane's mind about romantic relationships.

The cinema staff, led by boss Dave, engages in a secret culture of betting on the outcomes of people's relationships and sexual lives. Dave himself is shown betting on Grace's pregnancy, revealing that the group regularly wagers on intimate details of each other's lives. This voyeuristic dynamic creates an underlying tension about trust and privacy among the friends.

The bets foreshadow the pregnancy reveal later in the film, as Dave's quick guessing that Grace is pregnant demonstrates how closely he monitors his friends' lives.

Grace reveals that Tom is the biological father of her child after a year has passed, when she shows a blood test to Jane. She chooses to keep this information to herself rather than pursuing anything from Tom, even after his death. The revelation comes after Jane has already processed her own experiences with Tom, adding a layer of complexity to the group's history and leaving Jane to process this posthumous connection.

Earlier, Dave bets on Grace being pregnant before she announces it, showing he was already paying close attention to her situation.

Tom dies after he gets drunk and drives the wrong direction on a one-way street, resulting in a crash that leaves him hospitalized with fatal injuries. His death occurs shortly after being fired from the cinema for stealing, and it happens on the same night he and Jane share a notably more enjoyable sexual experience together. The sudden tragedy marks a turning point in the film, affecting everyone at the cinema.

Earlier, Matt and Tom share one final night of drinking together before Tom's death, hinting at the reckless behavior that leads to his fatal accident.

Ryan rejects Jane's romantic feelings simply because he does not feel the same way about her. Despite their friendship and shared workplace, Ryan prefers to remain friends rather than pursue a romantic relationship. Jane must then navigate processing this rejection while also dealing with Tom's death and the subsequent changes at the cinema.

Throughout the film, Ryan is shown amusing himself with smiley-face memorabilia and remains somewhat emotionally distant, foreshadowing his inability to return Jane's romantic feelings.

When Jane runs into Steve at a restaurant a year later, he does not recognize her. She later explains to Allison, a reader of the Olive Juice zine, that her first time with Steve inspired a piece in the zine about an "awful thing that happened in the cemetery." This confrontation forces Jane to reckon with how that initial experience shaped her writing and identity.

Jane's first time with Steve at the beginning of the film is depicted as uncomfortable and unsatisfying, with her asking him to stop, laying the groundwork for her later description of it as an "awful" experience.

Jane quits her job at the cinema after Tom's funeral, when a new abrasive manager takes over and the toxic betting culture becomes formalized under new leadership. Ryan also quits around the same time. The combination of losing friends, dealing with a new controlling manager, and processing Tom's death leads Jane to leave her old life behind and eventually move to Boston.

The betting culture was introduced early on, and Dave's departure after Tom's death removes the one person who kept the environment somewhat balanced, leading to the new manager's oppressive reign.

Jane creates a video project interviewing her friends about life in a fictional country called Zamboni, where women enjoy equal rights. The project is an exploration of gender equality and alternative societal structures. When she presents the unedited project to her class, it receives a cooler reaction than she hoped, with disapproval from her more conventional peers, reflecting the film's themes of challenging norms.

The Zamboni project foreshadows Jane's later involvement in the zine Olive Juice, both being creative outlets that explore progressive ideas about sexuality and women's autonomy.

Ericka suggests masturbation to Jane as a way for her to explore her own desires independently, outside of the complicated dynamics of relationships. This advice comes after Ericka shares her own sexual history, including a cryptic basement encounter, and challenges Jane to understand what she likes before engaging with partners. Jane later acts on this advice, masturbating for the first time after Tom invites her to a party.

Ericka's own experience with the whispered "olive juice" after sex represents a moment of private pleasure and self-knowledge that she wants Jane to discover for herself.

Jane presents her Zamboni project unedited to the class, which contributes to the cooler reaction she receives. By showing the raw, unfiltered interviews about a fictional feminist utopia, she challenges her classmates' expectations and norms directly. The unedited nature reflects her authenticity but also exposes her to judgment from peers who aren't ready for such candid explorations of gender equality.

This moment reflects Jane's overall journey of authenticity and self-discovery, choosing to show her true self rather than curate for approval, similar to how she later writes honestly about her first time for the zine.

After leaving the cinema following Tom's funeral and the departure of the old management, Dave goes on to run a new theater with his partner Kurt. This represents his continued pursuit of an artistic life and his ability to move forward after the upheaval at his previous workplace. His new venture shows a positive trajectory despite the losses he experienced.

Dave's betting on Grace's pregnancy and his role as the understanding gay boss throughout the film established him as someone who observes but also cares for his friends, making his happy ending feel earned.

Steve doesn't recognize Jane when they meet a year later because their only encounter was brief, uncomfortable, and happened over a year ago. Additionally, Jane has grown and changed significantly since then, she's moved to Boston, started contributing to a zine, and transformed emotionally. The lack of recognition highlights how insignificant that initial encounter was to Steve versus how profoundly it impacted Jane's life and writing.

The uncomfortable, stop-in-the-middle nature of their encounter established that it was not a meaningful connection for either party, making Steve's lack of recognition believable.