Friends with Benefits Review

By: Robert Acosta

Cast:
Justin Timberlake as Dylan
Mila Kunis as Jamie
Woody Harrelson as Tommy
Jenna Elfman as Annie

Plot: Two people coming out of separate relationships promise to keep their interaction to just sex. Over time, a relationship builds and each of them deal with feelings they never really wanted.

Review: Romantic comedies are a dime a dozen. Romantic comedies that bring together two powerhouse names in Hollywood is starting to become more of the norm. Earlier this year we had No Strings Attached bring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman together. Essentially, they could be seen as the same movie.

I say that because most, if not all, romantic comedies are the same. The idea that a certain couple cannot be together in the beginning is brought to us and as the movie goes on the idea becomes more and more untrue, with the ending being the couple ending up together. Believe me, i've spoiled nothing for you because you know that's how it goes. It's always the in between part that ends up being the amusing part, at least for me.

Justin Timberlake's acting is getting better, not to say that it was bad, but I can see him doing more roles like this in the coming years. The relaxed, cool, somewhat goofy kind of character that comes off very likable. Mila Kunis plays the emotionally damaged woman....stop me if you've heard this one before. Woody Harrellson plays the gay co-worker of Timberlake's, providing many sexual references and some advice but overall, he provides comedy.

Emma Stone and Andy Samberg both make cameos in the film, with Stone leaving more of an impact with me, screaming a line that will stick with me for some time.

The movie is not afraid to poke fun at the cliches that come with rom-coms. While literally saying what a lot of them are and eventually playing out that cliche at some point in the film. Some may think that it's cliche to poke fun at the cliches and then play out those cliches. Some, like myself, may have found it funny to watch it all play out.

The romantic half of the phrase "romantic comedy" showed a lot more than the comedy side in this film. Not to say that I didn't laugh because there were laughs through out, spread out in the film. The sex scenes between Kunis and Timberlake end up being more funny than sexy and watching Timberlake sing "Third Eye Blind" and Kris Kross was funny. All in all though, the focus is on the romance and i'm OK with that.

Lastly, the film runs at 120 minutes, 2 hours essentially. For a rom-com, that's definitely too long and it feels like it is dragging on towards the end. 1 hour 45 minutes or a little less would have been fitting.

Overall, it is your typical romantic comedy film, but that's not to say it's a bad film. It's a good, solid film that should entertain and keep you emotionally involved.

Rating 3 out of 5