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Written by Gregg Shapiro
Jul 28, 2011
Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake are “Friends With Benefits.” – Photo: Courtesy
‘Friends With Benefits’
Possibly the funniest rom-com since “(500) Days of Summer,” “Friends With Benefits” takes the no-strings-attached relationship concept and ties it in little love knots. Right from the beginning, the laughs are fast and furious, silly and sexy.
In New York, executive recruiter Jamie (Mila Kunis) is dumped by boyfriend Quincy (Andy Samberg). Meanwhile, in L.A., website wunderkind Dylan (Justin Timberlake, bringing sexy back and more) is getting the ax from John Mayer-obsessed girlfriend Kayla (Emma Stone).
As luck would have it, Dylan is recruited by Jamie to come to New York for a job interview as an art director at GQ magazine. He nails it, of course. But will he nail Jamie? That’s what you’re expected to ponder.
While they maintain a professional and social relationship during Dylan’s transition, the sexual tension is palpable. It’s also handled with grace and humor. So when they begin their sex-driven but emotionally bereft association, it comes as no surprise. How long they can make it last before love rears its ugly head is anyone’s guess.
“Friends With Benefits” confirms that both Timberlake and Kunis are able to carry a movie as lead actors. Kunis has had a bit more practice and pulls it off effortlessly, proving she’s a natural born comic. Timberlake, on the other hand, is the real revelation here. Anyone who has seen him on “Saturday Night Live” already knows how capable he is. In “Friends” he meets and exceed all expectations.
Supporting characters such as Tommy (Woody Harrelson), the gay sports editor at GQ, and Lorna (Patricia Clarkson), Jamie’s free-loving mother, almost steal the show from the young couple.
‘Crazy Stupid Love’
Is it wrong to expect more from Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, the co-writers/co-directors of the wonderful “I Love You Phillip Morris”? More dramedy than rom-com, “Crazy Stupid Love” is not a total loss. After all, we do get to see Ryan Goslin in various states of undress.
Over dinner at a restaurant Emily (Julianne Moore) asks husband Cal (Steve Carell) for a divorce. High school sweethearts who married in their teens when Emily became pregnant, the disclosure that Emily had an affair with co-worker David (Kevin Bacon) causes Cal to throw himself from the car on the drive home. He survives, but his spirit is crushed.
Meanwhile, Cal and Emily’s 13-year-old son Robbie (Jonah Bobo) is experiencing the blush of first love in the form of a crush on 17-year-old babysitter Jessica (Analeigh Tipton). But Jessica pines for Cal! Somewhere across town, law school grad Hannah (the ubiquitous Emma Stone) is leading a PG13 life, aside from her crush on Conan O’Brien. Sitting in a bar with best friend Liz (Liza Lapira), Hannah brushes off the advances of ladies’ man Jacob (Ryan Gosling), choosing to remain faithful to lawyer boyfriend Richard (singer Josh Groban).
Later, in the same bar where Hannah turned him down, Jacob overhears a drunk and slightly belligerent Cal bemoaning his situation. One look at Cal in his ill-fitting clothes and worn-out New Balance kicks, and Jacob is inspired to make him his very own Eliza Doolittle, assisting him in redeeming his manhood. The scenes involving Cal’s transformation are among the funniest in the movie, culminating in Cal picking up teacher and recovering alcoholic Kate (Marisa Tomei).
At the same time, Emily is trying to put David off as she tries to figure out the next step in her life. One of the more hilarious, and awkward, moments occurs when Cal and Emily come together for a parent/teacher conference at Robbie’s school, only to discover that Kate is Robbie’s teacher. And poor Hannah has her own uncomfortable moment at a party thrown in her honor after she passes the bar exam. She realizes that she and Richard aren’t on the same page. This leads her to track down Jacob at his bar hangout and make up for lost time.
The Hannah and Jacob relationship, which gets serious quickly, is the first in a series of unexpected twists and turns. Some you see coming, some you don’t.
Ultimately, that’s the problem with the movie. It wants to be taken seriously as a portrait of love’s various facets, but it also wants to tickle you until your eyes water.
