Timberlake demonstrates wide range of talents in new rom-com
Rating: B
I'm definitely not the first to write this in a review, but "Friends with Benefits" is obviously comparable to the similarly themed "No Strings Attached," which came out about six months ago. Both films revolve around a "best friends fall in love" formula, while including a premise about engaging in casual sex. Still, there's a big difference between the two films: Where "No Strings Attached" faltered, "Friends with Benefits" triumphs.
"Friends with Benefits" is a romantic comedy that doesn't offer anything original and contains a predictable story. This, however, can be forgiven since devoted lovers of the genre watch to see the fantasy of two young, attractive individuals meeting and falling in love. The aspects that really make the movie stand out in the genre are its well-drawn characters and the remarkable chemistry between Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis.
Dylan (Justin Timberlake) is a blog editor from Los Angeles who lands a head position in New York City's GQ magazine headquarters thanks to corporate headhunter Jamie (Mila Kunis). Dylan and Jamie are both emotionally damaged after repeated failed attempts to find love and gain a mutual friendship. Having not seen "No Strings Attached," they decide to engage in an informal sex-centered relationship and swear on an iPad Bible app that emotions will not complicate their current relationship.
However, as previous movies of its kind tell us, it's impossible to engage in casual intercourse without feelings getting in the way. As with "No Strings Attached," the film establishes the point that the two are perfect for each other but are afraid of revealing their feelings because it would ruin what they have.
The sharp script gives the film a sense of cleverness and self-awareness, fully admitting how exasperatingly cliched the rom-com genre has become. At one point in the film, the friends watch a film starring an uncredited Rashida Jones and Jason Segel, which serves as a satirical example of every Nicholas Sparks cliché known to man. It also makes a self-referential comment on how nothing happens in romantic comedies after the "big kiss" moment, referring to the post-happenings as "pornography."
The strongest aspect in "Friends with Benefits" is the chemistry between Timberlake and Kunis that keeps audiences interested up to the point of their foreseeable coupling. Their likability easily makes them worth rooting for as they engage in humorous, sharp banter that makes half the sex scenes completely hysterical to watch. Being the R-rated film that it is, the script also presents some smart, raunchy dialogue as the leads verbally bounce off each other.
From his comical guest appearances on "Saturday Night Live" to his dramatic turn in "The Social Network" (2010), Justin Timberlake just continues to impress. With his comedic charisma, Timberlake is amiable in his portrayal of Dylan and provides plenty of laughs when he's rapping to Chris Cross or singing Semisonic's "Closing Time." Not very often do multidimensional female characters find their way into romantic comedies, but Kunis brilliantly portrays a character that is sassy, foul-mouthed and independent — yet admittedly emotionally wounded.
The film contains a few subplots that involve Jamie's relationship with her mother and the problems within Dylan's family. These subplots would have been the film's downfall had the supporting characters not been well-cast. Patricia Clarkson stars as Jamie's hazy-minded, free-spirited mother who is seemingly between relational engagements. Richard Jenkins plays Dylan's father who suffers from Alzheimer's disease and occasionally forgets to wear pants. Woody Harrelson steals every scene he's in as Dylan's macho, homosexual office colleague.
Aside from its overused pop-music soundtrack and repeated jokes involving flash mobs and pop-culture references, "Friend with Benefits" serves as a great retreat from this summer of superheroes and sequels. It's sexy, it's raunchy, it's funny and it works.