Dylan and Jamie think it's going to be easy to add the simple act of sex to their friendship, despite what Hollywood romantic comedies would have them believe. They soon discover however that getting physical really does always lead to complications.
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Reviews
Overrated and overhyped
It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.
Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
The movie wasn't good. It wasn't really interesting and I felt bored a little bit . The couple was OK , there was a little bit of romance , but it wasn't funny or entertaining
The romance is pretty much diminished by the physical act of casual sexual intercourse. There is more sex in this than films like 50 Shades of Grey and Nymphomaniac, films designed to showcase this physical act of love. Problem is, this film is so bland and formulaic that its not innovative in the slightest. You've seen it a hundred times. A couple promise to just engage in casual sex, what is known as friends with benefits, but naturally start developing feelings for each other. You can coat its core with layers of harmless fun all you want, it still remains the same. Ironically, it attempts to deconstruct the genre. There is a pivotal scene where the couple watch a rom-com and distinguish typical elements that make a 'Hollywood' film and the negative connotations it represents. Pop music at the credits, unrealistic eternal love and the endless amount of clichés. I honestly thought the film would then utilise these and flip the genre on its side...but no. Ironically, it follows the exact same formula that makes a 'Hollywood' rom-com. Is that supposed to be funny? No. If anything, it is wasted potential. It's strongest asset is the script which has various humorous moments and brings plenty of charisma to our lead characters who are played by the irresistible Mila Kunis and mediocre Justin Timberlake. The person I was watching this film with has memorised the script...by heart...indicating that it sticks with certain people. Just not me. Kunis is great, sure all I hear is Meg from Family Guy but she played the role well. Timberlake cannot act. Sorry, but I just dislike the guy. Everything he does feels forced and uncomfortable to watch, and occasionally Kunis suffers the same fate. Like watching two pieces of cardboard trying to become a work of art but actually disintegrates and biodegrades into the Earth. The supporting cast were instantly forgettable. I admire how the plot explores the complications and impracticality of having a friend with benefits. It's a pass from me.
What a nice job director Will Gluck has done here... Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake were not nominated for best actor award and I will not be amazed if they never get to it, but you will find yourself loving both in this piece. And it really is a compliment because the movie is a comedy pace so predictable from the title itself, and didn't takes any damage from that. The support roles are at the same level of the leading ones. I think a challenge of this kind of stories is always empathy, and everyone does the job is this matter, and they certainly do well. This is one movie i will have in my shelf, well located beside "Doc Hollywood" "Pretty Woman" and "My Cousin Vinny" and it means no less than worth to watch and enjoy. If one feels like drama, or director cinema, or action, or testimonial, or other genre, should pick accordingly; if in the mood for a romantic comedy not to analyze much but letting go with, a chance to "Friends with benefits" doesn't let down at all. It is not an outstanding marvelous work, or script, or music, but the pieces fits to make the magic movies just do... So thanks and well done for everyone involved from my side!
Romantic fiction often focuses on a man and woman who in lifestyle as well as personal focus seem unmatched yet by the end discover they ARE romantically marched.Social documentaries on the lifestyle of downtown Manhattan in New York City focus on traditional nuclear family units even when internally dysfunctional long moving away replaced by recent newcomers to Manhattan's downtown largely loners inside a seemingly impenetrable shell who seek out its unusual happenings without in fact becoming close to anything or anyone in their new environment. Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake could not come from more disparate backgrounds or have different lifestyles. Once deciding casual sex seems more their style than commitment he accidentally meets her family before inviting her to meet his whereupon more experienced romantic comedy film stars from Jenna Elfman as Justin's sister to Woody Harrelson as the current Boss hiring Justin seem more right for the story than do the two leads. Mila has a secretive mom who refuses to tell her when she is going to appear out of the blue, when she is going to stay awake, focused or alert or where she in fact came from. Justin is anxious for her to met his failing in health dad, his irritating, dysfunctional loner sister and a nephew whom they have taken in in California whereupon they mess things up for him. What seem,s to happen is in trying to combine romantic comedy with social media documentary it is NOT as successful as say the hit TVland show currently airing YOUNGER.