Friends With Benefits

I questioned whether or not I should go see this movie.  In premise it is remarkably similar to a recent movie called No Strings Attached (NSA).  Both movies feature an attractive pair of friends who decide that they can engage in intimate relations without actually being in a relationship with each other.  NSA starred Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher, she was a busy doctor and he worked in television.  There was not a lot of chemistry between them, the humor fell short in most places (the obvious exception being Mindy Kaling playing the best friend who was quite hilarious), and it was too formulaicly stuck to the romantic comedy genre.  Friends with Benefits, however, was constantly funny, the stars has a sizzle factor with each other, and the formula was not strictly adhered to.

Let's start with the basic plot.  Justin Timberlake plays Dylan a graphic designer from LA.  Mila Kunis plays Jamie, a head hunter from NY.  Jamie recruits Dylan to be the art director of GQ, he moves to New York and they become friends.  From there they decide to have casual relations and obvious complications ensue.  Please don't get me wrong folks, this was a romantic comedy.  The formula was followed, however the manner in which we reached our inevitable conclusion made this movie stand apart from is counterparts.

I have been a fan of Justin Timberlake for a long time.  In fact, it was his appearance on MTV's Punk'd that made me like him.  Don't get me wrong, I liked N'SYNC along with all the other girls my age, but I was more into Lance Bass.  Justin was one of the first people Punk'd on Ashton Kutcher's prank show.  They acted like they were IRS agents seizing all of his property.  I started to really like Justin as I watched him react to this situation.  He didn't scream at the agents, he didn't threaten anyone.  When someone started smashing his guitar he said please when he asked them to stop.  Above all else though, when faced with the scary situation of having people seize his stuff, he called his mom.  It's exactly what I would have done, it made him seem like a real person and not a celebrity.  In addition to that, Justin makes music that makes you want to move.  He has an impecable sense of comedic timing and is not afraid to commit to a role.

I am also a fan of Mila Kunis, she was awesome in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.  I also liked Mila in this role because, while a very skinny girl, she managed to look like an actually human being instead of an emaciated actress.  Together these actors had definite chemistry, they also played well comically off of one another.  I got the sense that they were allowed to adlib some scenes and took the jokes to a new level.  The rest of the cast was stellar as well.  Jenna Elfman plays Dylan's sister, but she is not the zany Dharma that you remember she has a sense of depth in this role that I loved.  Patricia Clarkson plays Jamie's mother and showed us once again how she can play crazy and yet still make us love her.  Woody Harrelson, Bryan Greenburg and Richard Jenkins shine as well.  The humor was exactly my brand of funny.  They didn't take it anywhere gross, there weren't sex jokes that made you cringe.  There was just pure hilarity in two friends who had no problem making fun of each other.  One thing that I really liked was that Dylan and Jamie were actually friends and it was clear how important that aspect of their arrangement was.  Their chemistry was not just physical, but emotional as well.

This is not a movie that it is necessary to see in the theaters, but you will not be disappointed if you choose to shell out the movie theater prices.  I think this is one that I will be buying when it is available.  I immediately wanted to watch it again when the credits rolled.  

Happy Viewing!