Friends with Benefits
Description
Dylan (Justin Timberlake) is done with relationships.
Jamie (Mila Kunis) decides to stop buying into the Hollywood clichés of true
love. When the two become friends they decide to try something new and take
advantage of their mutual attraction – but without any emotional attachment.
Physical pleasure without the entanglements. Sounds easy enough for two
logical adults, right? Not so much. They soon realize romantic comedy
stereotypes might exist for a reason. At a time when mainstream
comedy has been overtaken by rambling, pleasingly sloppy Judd Apatow-type
improv-fests, director Will Gluck has been quietly doing his part to remind
folks that sticking to the script and having a destination in mind can be fun,
too. Much like his earlier Easy A, Friends with Benefits is a clever, just-
this-side-of-painfully-hip relationship comedy that knows when to linger over
a punch line and when not to break stride. A few minor speed bumps aside
(filmmakers: can we can it with the musical montages, already?), it goes down
extremely easy. The story in a nutshell: frustrated by the lack of viable
dating options in their vicinity, two platonic friends (Mila Kunis and Justin
Timberlake) decide to embark on a casual, no-strings-attached physical
relationship. However, as a briefly glimpsed clip from Bob & Carol & Ted &
Alice foreshadows, things don’t stay simple for very long. As opposed to the
standard PG-13 rom com, things get surprisingly raunchy here, but organically
so, with the slight snafus and briefly major embarrassments that should ring
true to most relationship veterans. As in Easy A, Gluck has assembled a
fantastically game supporting cast, including Woody Harrelson, Jenna Elfman,
and especially the great Richard Jenkins and Patricia Clarkson as two vastly
different parental figures, but it’s really the two leads’ show. Whether
arguing the virtues of the band Kriss Kross or engaging in activities
unprintable on an all-ages website, Timberlake and Kunis display the snappy
back-and-forth of a classic cinematic coupling. When they’re cooking, you
don’t want to be anywhere else. –Andrew Wright
Features:
Product Details:
- Genre: Romance, Comedy
- Format: AC-3, Widescreen, Multiple Formats, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Dubbed
- Contributor: Will Gluck, Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis
- Language: English
- Runtime: 1 hour and 49 minutes
- Aspect Ratio : 2.40:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : R (Restricted)
- Product Dimensions : 0.6 x 5.3 x 7.5 inches; 2.4 Ounces
- Item model number : D38721D
- Director : Will Gluck
- Media Format : AC-3, Widescreen, Multiple Formats, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Dubbed
- Run time : 1 hour and 49 minutes
- Release date : December 2, 2011
- Actors : Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis