Hey guys! First up! I watched both of these movies for the first time Saturday night, right on top of each other. Why would I do that, you might ask? Well, there was beer involved. Both films are about friends who decide to have pressure-free sex with each other, no relationship obligations allowed. I always forget that show existed, even though I watched every episode of it.
Title: No Strings Attached Released: Director: Ivan Reitman, of Ghostbusters and Meatballs fame. Not too shabby. Writer: Elizabeth Meriweather, whoever she is. Rating: R. Obviously the best rating you can get. PG is boring and NC is gross. Title: Friends With Benefits Released: Director: Will Gluck, of Easy A fame. Nice cred. Newman and Harley Peyton. It took four writers to create this movie, never a good sign.
Peyton, however, was a major writer on Twin Peaks , and that rules! Natalie Portman is absolutely stunning. Her bone structure is gorgeous and she has the deepest, most beautiful eyes. Ashton Kutcher is pasty and lumpy and also he is a cheating perv. Mila Kunis is a total babe, head to toe. Everybody is equally as hot as each other, just as God intended. I cannot believe how emphatically I squeed at No Strings Attached. I know! I know. He is so totally unafraid of menses!
These two were so overwhelmingly sweet and lovely together in the movie, in a very realistic, honest way. And you should know that I am generally not a fan of romantic comedies. I bear up very well against manufactured romance, but No Strings Attached slayed me. I laughed some, and I definitely lusted some, but I did not squee.
Timberlake and Kunis have majorly smoking chemistry, but I was never convinced that they were in love. They actually sell being great friends who have great sex, but they do not sell romance. This is where the fact that No Strings Attached is written by a woman really makes a difference. NSA is that rare film that is never frustrating or disheartening to watch as a feminist.
