Right, let me start off by saying that I'm not a fan of Justin Timberlake (at least not in the past anyway), therefore this is not a gushy post about him but more on his latest movie, Friends with Benefits. I am sure many of you must have came across romantic comedies which have themes like the leading characters being friends (or even strangers) before they fell in love and became a happy couple. The theme may be cheesy, but they do happen in reality and I love such theme all the same.
Jamie (played by Mila Kunis) is a headhunter in New York and she has found Dylan (played by Justin Timberlake) to fill in the position of an art director at GQ. Prior to fetching Dylan from the airport, Jamie had fallen off with her boyfriend who thinks she is emotionally damaged. Jamie, on the other hand, has swore off men and relationships after the break up and focused her mind into work and helping Dylan in settling down in his new job in New York, after all Dylan is LA based and their personalities and mindset is way so different from each other. Jamie is loud, vocal and is not shy in displaying her emotions in public while Dylan is much more level-headed and prefers to stay in a low profile.
A few outings lead them to become friends, and it is one night while watching a show which revolves around romance and relationship and this got them started on discussing issues like getting physical without all the emotions attached. They then decided to make a pact to be sleeping partners but without those emotional baggage that comes along with it.
Things are going on fine between them until Dylan brings Jamie back home to meet his family, not to introduce them as a couple but as friends considering that Dylan didn't even bring his ex-girlfriend home. Jamie is awed by Dylan's family, for they made her feel at home and most of all, this trip makes her see Dylan in a new light. It makes her understand Dylan a bit more after seeing how he treats towards his father who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Dylan, on the other hand, started to have feelings towards Jamie although he wouldn't want to admit it, in spite that he is being accused of emotionally unavailable by his ex-girlfriend.
Dylan's sister thought Dylan and Jamie make a fine couple, but Dylan brushed it off and said they are nothing but friends. Being a cliché and all, we all know where this is leading to but still we want to see the chemistry sparks and their confession towards the end.
Friends with Benefits may have an old and cliché plot, but what I liked about this movie is the great chemistry between Mila and Justin, and not to mention their witty dialogues at times. Aside from these, I think supporting characters like Jamie's mom, Dylan's father and Dylan's gay colleague, a sports editor, all add entertainment to this movie and make it even more interesting. It was great having a few of those laugh-out-loud moments when you thought this movie is a tad cheesy, in which I wish to reiterate that I enjoyed watching the chemistry between Justin and Mila being onscreen lovers. Heck, I even have to admit that it was far off better as compared with No Strings Attached (starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher), another movie which has the same theme of friends became lovers and in my opinion, it somewhat lacks the poignancy and also that I felt the characterisations are a tad weaker.
And before I end this post, I have a question for you. Do you think a man and a woman can remain friends, especially in the long run?
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I don't mind cheesy movies on a wintry day!! I think if they try hard they can remain friends but it also depends on what level they hurt each other too.
I have watch a lot of cheesy movies and some are great and other, not so great. But I really don't mind cheesy movies. Friends With Benefits look like it going to be one of the good movie to watch. I adore Justin Timberlake because he is such a fun entertainer on both music and TV industry imo. He have great personality and work well with other people :
Do I think a man and a woman can just be friends? Yes... if they're both in committed relationships with other people. If they're both single? That's a whole different issue.
Hmmm...I havent seen this one, it just doesn't interest me.
I am a big Justin Timberlake fan, I love him when he's on Saturday Night Live. I actually like his music too.
This one sounds cliche but cute.
I don't know if exes can really remain friends, that can be complicated, especially with thier current love interests.
I think married exes who have children involved, should remain as friendly as they can, but that's a whole nother story...lol.
Nice review ;)
I'm glad you liked this one Melody! I kind of have a bit of a crush on Timberlake so it was already good for me going on. ;) But I did think the two had excellent chemistry. I did not like No Strings Attached.
The entire time we watched this movie, Scott mentioned how predictable the plot was. But I like that sometimes...
I thought this was a fun movie too! I'm not a huge fan of his music but I justin is fun!
I do think men and women can be friends. I have guy friends and we've been friends for years.