But then Adam and Emma finally become lovers and he’s keen to go out on a proper date; commitment-phobe that she is, Emma suggests that they become friends with benefits – lovers with the no strings attached of the title. (Incidentally the original title was �Fuck Buddies� but clearly somewhere along the line that edginess got lost.)
And that’s the story really, because of course you know what will happen. I’m really not giving anything away to say that after a lot of rip-your-clothes-off sex they end up together – but only after Adam falls in love with Emma; https://besthookupwebsites.org/swinging-heaven-review/ they break up when she can’t/won’t commit; the obligatory wedding (her sister’s) that makes Emma realise she loves Adam; and the equally obligatory medical emergency (his dad’s) that makes Adam realise he has to try one more time – because Ivan Reitman’s film, written by Elizabeth Meriwether, is film-making by numbers. It’s a shame, because this could have been a thoroughly original take on the genre, since the guy is the soppy romantic one and the gal is the sex hound, but the exposition is plodding and the love story never truly ignites.
I don’t mind admitting I have a weakness for Hollywood shmaltz so can quite happily sit through hours of this stuff, but I was unmoved by No Strings Attached. Whether it’s the lack of chemistry between Kutcher and Portman, or the obvious trajectory of Meriwether’s script, or the fact that no character other than Adam is given any kind of back story (quite why Emma is so reluctant to have a settled relationship is never explained, for instance), or the criminal under-use of LA as a romantic backdrop, I can’t tell.
But there’s the occasional sharp line, plus nice support from Greta Gerwig and Jake Johnson as Emma and Adam’s friends, while Kevin Kline acts the lot of them off screen. And Ashton Kutcher, who spends a goodly proportion of this film in a state of undress, really is super-cute.
His father, a washed-up TV star played by Kevin Kline, is dating his old girlfriend
Instead she wants someone who will have sex with her whenever she wants it, without any of the repercussions a relationship brings
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Friends with benefits never works, I know this from personal experience… Okay I really don’t. There’s no such thing, like unicorns or forest sprites. It’s fun to think that something like that could exist. Who wouldn’t like someone at their beckon and call, at all hours of the day, there to do their sexual bidding? Who wouldn’t want to have someone ready at a moments notice to go a couple rounds in the bedroom without all that caring for each other nonsense mucking up the works? Emma (Natalie Portman) wants just that. She doesn’t want to have a boyfriend. Adam (Ashton Kutcher) is more of a hopeless romantic, but doesn’t say no when Emma makes the too-good-to-be-true proposition. They call each other at all hours of the night, hook up, but there’s definitely no cuddling. That’s what couples do and they certainly aren’t a couple. Adam is dealing with his own problems. It’s one of those subplots that a R rated comedy has in order to stick in a few more gross-out moments. Somehow Kevin Kline talking about sex, pot, and doing acid isn’t as funny as you think it would be. ‘No Strings Attached’ is actually a decently written movie. From the premise you’d think that this is going to be another R rated comedy with a few raunchy laughs, but it’s got quite a bit of good humor. Granted most of that humor is doled out between the side characters, like Adam’s friends Eli (Jake M. Johnson) and Wallace (Ludacris), but for the most part the movie is pretty funny. |