All the ingredients for a fine contemporary comedy are here, including a pertinent theme (the difficulty of finding love amid career obligations and easy sex) and an assortment of courageous young actors (Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Greta Gerwig, Olivia Thirlby). Unfortunately the director is Ivan Reitman, who's never made a more emotionally complex film than Meatballs (1979). Telling the story of a med student (Portman) and an aspiring TV writer (Kutcher) who try to navigate a "sex friendship" without falling in love, Reitman settles for easy laughs, and his off-color jokes about menstruation and drug use feel like greeting-card gags. The charismatic leads keep this watchable, but it's a waste of their talents. No Strings Attached
Comment: This review is written by an older guy from the "free love" Emerson Lake and Palmer, Black Sabbath, Yes, and Beatles generation. I don't usually watch "chick flicks", but i'm a movie collector, so some "get through". This film is a (hard core) formula movie for this genres (chick flick). I have to say that when this movie started I couldn't help but think how "prissy and "gay-like" (the new generation depicted by this movie...) was looking and acting. As the story started to go... it started to become entertaining. One thing that I just couldn't get past was the casual way people had sex with each other. I mean even back in my day of "free love" (despite what you may of heard or read) when you were "boning a girl" you liked, you didn't pass her around like a reefer (as some of the characters were doing). My "distilled" comment for this movie is that if you strip away all the "fluff" around the main story it is somewhat entertaining. Is it believable or true to life... not a chance in hell. Please don't "flame mail" me as some have done in the past. This is a "free and open" venue for us to express our opinions. Thank You.
I thought this would be a cheesy movie with a few good moments and I was completely wrong. Typically, the man is a womanizer, a workaholic, etc. In this movie, the rolls are reversed. Natalie plays a doctor that is a workaholic who has a serious commitment phobia. She creates an odd friends with benefits relationship with Ashton, that backfires on her. Ashton plays a romantic who wants more out of the relationship and decides he doesn't want to play games anymore. The movie had a great flow. There were some funny moments, some sad moments, etc. I thought a couple of the kissing scenes were a little awkward/rushed, but other than that, the acting was great. When the credits start rolling, keep watching. There is still a little more to the story.
Definitely a movie for adults. Lots of talk about guys' "d***s", sex, complicated relationships, one night stands, etc.
It is really sad when you get your expectations up with a new Ivan Reitman comedy only to be bitterly dissapointed by it. There is a hardly any chemistry between the two protaganists (Portman and Kutcher). All we get is a bawdy comedy with a slow moving story. Kevin Kline is simply wasted. Just oh dear, yawn.
Sex without love is an impossible task? Some ladies of the evening may disagree. This isn't a bad movie just a totally predictable one. For the first two-thirds of the film it seems like it's nothing but a bunch of self-absorbed yuppies yammering about their delusional opinions on love and sex. Ashton Kutcher's randy dad played by Kevin Kline was the only thing making the enterprise palatable. It's only in the last third that the film redeems itself when it reaches the inevitable conclusion that yes, love between two people is a possibility. They released this film over Valentine's Day Weekend and I guess it would be a servicable date movie though those offended by rough and frank language might look elsewhere. Otherwise, it's pretty forgettable. Natalie, you won an Oscar! What are you doing in ho-hum fare like this?
can it be done..a no-strings relationship?? absolutely but this shows the, perhaps, flexibility of both sides .... the film would have been better without the suddenly and usual today reversal of "typical" character-roles in no-strings relationships ... why was he so surprised at the no-strings attitude???
Ashton Kutcher was not, however, very believable .. a bit kitschy and Natalie Portman's performance was trying too hard to retain the distance ... A no-strings relationship is OK and the film was OK.
I consider myself to be a solid judge of a movie based on the previews, and this movie's previews definitely piqued my interest. As a single woman, begrudgingly falling into the stereotype, I'm always seeking a good love story that I can relate to. Unfortunately, I felt that this one fell flat. A decent overall movie to watch on a rainy day, but a uninspiring storyline.
I've had this for about 6 months and never watched it, finally watched it and it was so funny. I thought this might not be that good but it was really good, soo funny! What friends with benefits should be about, and what happens when it turns messy! I loved it!'
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