No Strings Attached

I'll begin this review by saying that I've never been the biggest fan of romantic comedies. This is because too often they're not very romantic or very funny and rely too heavily on being cute and quaint instead. If you're a fan of the genre, feel free to take my criticisms with a grain of salt.

This movie follows old friends Emma (Natalie Portman) and Adam (Ashton Kutcher) who decide to become friends with benefits, swearing to do away with love and romance. If you've ever seen a romantic comedy before, you know exactly how this idea will end. But as with every romance, it's the bumps along the way that define the story. In this case it's a mostly rewarding blend of surprisingly bold and bizarre humor. The comedy focuses on the flawed and awkward relationships between flawed and awkward characters, featuring a quirky but likable cast of supporting characters. The highlight is Kevin Kline as Adam's father, who gives out terrible life advice and has a thing for younger women. Every scene with him is a high point of the movie. The most disappointing performance is Carey Elwes as a side character with only two lines despite top billing. It's an even bigger waste of his talent than Saw 3D.

There's unfortunately also a decent number of unfunny moments and jokes that simply fail to pay off. Other scenes just feel altogether useless, especially those that follow largely unexplored side characters. Luckily these are outnumbered by the movie's funnier moments. And some jokes, particularly one about a balloon, are some of the funniest I've heard in the last year.

The two leads both handle their parts adequately. To say that Ashton Kutcher is a limited actor is an understatement, but this role falls perfectly within his range, and for what it's worth he nails it. His role doesn't demand much, nor does he add much to it, but he pulls it off with charm and knows how to laugh at himself.

Natalie Portman's role is a little more demanding, and she does justice to it too, but after Black Swan it's disappointing to see her going back to eye candy roles. Still, it's refreshing to see Portman show a sense of humor, though she doesn't handle comedy as naturally as Kutcher. At times I could almost feel her cringing at some of the lines she had to deliver. Also, I have some problems with how her character is writtern. I'm not going to call Emma a slut, but her obsession with constant casual sex and crippling fear of romance and commitment comes off less like an endearing quirk or flaw and more like a serious personality defect.
On the other hand, it's nice to see Portman show her range and see her character learn to overcome her fear of intimacy, even if it's possibly the most obvious rom com cliche.

I had more fun with this movie than I expected to, but for others who share my skepticism of romantic comedies, I can't promise the same. I can guarantee that this is a better than average romantic comedy by recent standards. What exactly that's worth I'll leave for other people to judge.

Also, just a final random thought: since this movie and Friends With Benefits have essentially the same premise and are coming out at about the same time, wouldn't it make much more sense to call the one with Justin Timberlake No Strings Attached?

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