After moving to New York from LA for a job with GQ, Dylan becomes friends with Jamie, the headhunter who brought him in. After a while, they start a physical relationship on a no-strings-attached basis. For a bit, the situation works out and benefits both of them. Until, of course, actual feelings threaten to derail their friendship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can all agree that most movies with a \u201cfriends with benefits\u201d storyline lead directly to romance. And I am more than okay with that as long as I enjoy the journey. I saw Friends with Benefits<\/em> in the theaters back in 2011, but I only remembered bits and pieces of it. Watching it again, I wasn\u2019t expecting to like it as much as I did. Despite its cliches, it works. Justin Timberlake<\/strong> and Mila Kunis<\/strong> have strong chemistry, but I\u2019m starting to suspect Kunis would have pretty good chemistry with most people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I really enjoyed this movie because it poked fun at rom-com clich\u00e9s while embracing them in a refreshing way. Jamie and Dylan had equal depth, although I struggled to see what their exes saw: Jamie is emotionally damaged for wanting romance, and Dylan is emotionally unavailable. Maybe it was hard to see those flaws because we see them together for most of the movie, rather than with other people; save for a few dates, Jamie goes on with a handsome doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Richard Jenkins<\/a> <\/strong>gives a lovely performance as Dylan\u2019s father, dealing with Alzheimer\u2019s, and Patricia Clarkson<\/a><\/strong> is quite fun as Jamie\u2019s flaky, albeit cool, mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The movie balances the romance with the right amount of raunchiness and is witty enough to draw genuine laughs. Not all of the jokes land, and there are times when I felt like it was trying to be more clever than it was. Woody Harrelson plays a gay sports reporter who essentially makes a lot of jokes about being gay while he tries to educate Dylan on what women want, despite, you know, being gay. He did make me laugh quite often, however, and I suppose I could see where they were trying to push the \u201chere\u2019s the gay best friend!\u201d trope with a cheeky wink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Friends With Benefits<\/em> is a pretty smart rom-com. I enjoyed it a lot, but I\u2019m honestly not sure it would have succeeded much without the strength of the chemistry between Kunis and Timberlake. But it works, and it\u2019s still a movie I would recommend to anyone who wants a bit of an edge to their rom-coms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watched:<\/strong> 05\/05\/2021
Notable Song:<\/strong> Closing Time by Semisonic<\/p>\n\n\n\n