At the Carson City Fandango Galaxy cineplex, I was a bit confused watching the new movie. Once I got the idea of the plot — guy, girl agree to sex with no emotional strings attached, I thought I had been caught in a time warp. I’d seen this movie, only it was titled “No Strings Attached” and starred Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher.
But then I sobered up and realized that I was watching “Friends With Benefits,” starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, about a couple who meet in NYC where she’s a head hunter and he is a head she’s placed with CQ magazine. There’s the usual back story but they wind up in bed for casual sex after promises of no entanglement, no emotion, just friendly, fevered sex.
Well, great minds etc.
If memory serves, “No Strings” was a better telling of the story, with a bad case of movie-type illness reaping sympathy at the end.
Bur the heat generated by Timberlake and Kunis is radiant, although he is sort of the modern stud personified while she is the New Yorker on the prowl for another head. Those big eyes of hers draw you into the film. The bed romps are fairly chaste, lots of tangled sheets and all, and the wandering of NYC is fairly touristy, despite Kunis claiming she was showing him the real NYC. Don’t think there is such a thing, but it’s years since I lived there. However, the rooftop views of the Big Apple are as luscious as ever and the Empire State building never looked better.
Woody Harrelson is on hand as a gay sports writer at CQ and he does bring some fun to the screen as does the rest of the vetern cast. There’s a scene where Harrelson is directing a photo shoot like none I’ve ever seen in 20 years in the magazine business, but then I never worked at CQ. And besides, I was lost at the beginning.
I’d give this a modest three cheers with a special nod to Kunis who really does a fine job — almost enough to make it all believable. See it, it’s summer fare but the menu is pretty good. You won’t need popcorn.
Incidentally, NBC is planning a “Friends with Benefits” sitcom. No need to wait, couldn’t match this.
— Sam Bauman
Cast
• Justin Timberlake as Dylan
• Mila Kunis as Jamie
• Nolan Gould as Sammy
• Woody Harrelson as Tommy
• Patricia Clarkson as Lorna
• Richard Jenkins as Mr. Harper
• Emma Stone as Kayla[
• Jenna Elfman as Annie
• Andy Samberg as Quincy
• Bryan Greenberg as Parker
• Evelina Pereira as Vivienne
• Jessica Blair Herman as Sloane
• David Walton as AubreyJason Segel, Shaun White and Rashida Jones have cameo roles in the film
Directed by Will Gluck
Produced by Liz Glotzer,
Martin Shafer,
Janet Zucker
Written by Keith Merryman,
David A. Newman,
Will Gluck,
Harley Peyton
Music by Halli Cauthery
Cinematography Michael Grady
Editing by Tia Nolan
