Friends with Benefits free essay sample

They soon discover that getting physical will not work and they begin to develop deep feelings for one another but only to deny it. Friends with Benefits, starring Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake are both well- chosen actors for this movie. Sweet, humorous, romantic are the words to describe this modern R-rated romantic comedy movie, Friends with Benefits. It is another flick about men, women, relationships, commitments, and insecurities. Some may or may not notice, but I would like to point out that Friends with Benefits is very familiar to the movie that came out couple months before called No Strings Attached, starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. Both movies have a very similar storyline with the boy and the girl believing that being in a relationship would never turn out well and they are just better off having casual sex with each other without the commitment of a relationship. Friends with Benefits follows Jamie (Mila Kunis), a New York executive recruiter who recruits Los Angeles blog editor Dylan (Justin Timberlake) to take the role as art director of the men’s magazine GQ in the Big Apple City. Jamie is a very sassy, independent woman with great charisma, on the other hand; Dylan is pretty much a funny and laid back guy. Both of them are welcomed to the â€Å"single world† almost immediately at the beginning of the movie. This movie fulfills audiences who are in search of two young, attractive, individuals meet, fall in love, deny their feelings, stumble over an obstacle, and then get together just in time for the ending; very predictable I say. This movie is not like any other movies out there such as No Strings Attached, which was rather messy or overcrowded. This movie is rather successful in being simple and honest, with the focus being entirely on the two leading roles. Also, it creates laughter for audiences and with a little twist of surprises every now and then. Like at the beginning on the movie when both Dylan and Jamie were on the phone, everyone would have thought those two were actually talking on the phone with each other but I believe it surprised all of us that they weren’t because their dialogue with one another makes so much sense. In fact, they were both talking to their boyfriend/girlfriend instead. One of the strengths of this movie is that Timberlake and Kunis are both very likeable and charming people who display enough chemistry to keep us interested, entertained and wanting to keep watching. As I said before, early in the film, their dialogue is often very smart and funny. They may not be the most appealing romantic comedy couple out there but they’re not mismatched and neither one of the character is annoying. The film contains outstanding acting from all the characters involved such as Patricia Clarkson, Jamie’s oversexed mom, Richard Jenkins, Dylan’s father who is by the way suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, a disease that leads to a loss of memory, speaking, and problem solving; which is very touching and realistic; and Woody Harrelson who plays â€Å"Tommy Bollinger†, a homosexual sports editor for GQ who eagerly befriends with Dylan. Listen, I’d love to take you out one night†, â€Å"What? †, â€Å"You got some pretty boys out there in L. A†; â€Å"I’m not gay, Tommy†,†Really? Oh! I just assumed, art director and†¦ your face†. Another thing I like about the movie was the flash mob dance in Time Square and Central Station, which was really amazing with a whole ocean of people. Not every film will have 100% perfect in it; there are always mistakes here and there. As for the weakness, the film’s ending has a sustained drag to it. It contains dilemma after dilemma, which begins to wear on the audience a little. Also, it loses its strong comedic sense and turns it into what you call a â€Å"chick flick†. Throughout the film, motifs that occurred are the different sex scenes and the funny, critical small talks between the two leading characters; not afraid of their â€Å"friends with benefits† title. As for allusions, audiences are able to identify a few; such as the great cameos, Emma Stone who plays Dylan’s ex-girlfriend in the beginning of the film. Also, Jamie’s mother Patricia Clarkson who plays a similar character of Emma Stone’s Easy A character. Friends with Benefits is a realistic film because it does not display any sort of image distortion whatsoever and it was being shot in New York, the city that never sleeps. The actors and events are happening in front of the camera as it records. The film exposes the realistic relationship that can happen between friends. The film shows various different shots from extreme long shots for the flash mobs to many close up shots and medium shots for the two actors when they are in bed. The storyline for the film gives the audiences a really realistic, romantic feel to it like any other romantic comedy. The story is familiar to other movies we may have seen in the romantic comedy genre section with the two main characters meeting each other, falling in love, have their happy moments together, something happens which cause them to break up and in the end, one of them do something so they can patch up again. When audiences are watching the film, as they go through the storyline, they realize that they are in a romantic comedy story themselves. I believe the director’s message is that friends with benefits are like real situations that may or may not happen to some people. The director wants reality and not fictional stories or objects. He wants something that is very cliche and that everyone will go through every day such as getting married, break up, divorce and what not. Director’s main point is he wants reality and not fantasy. The theme that arises within the film is how people think they can have casual sex and believe they won’t have any sort of feelings for the other person. A comparison for this movie would be what I’ve mentioned before, No Strings Attached. It’s all based on the similar of the plot, but I believe Friends with Benefits gave more humorous scenes than the other movie. In the end, this movie leaves an impression on me. Due to all the romantic comedies I’ve watched, this will be one of the best romantic comedies of the year. Although the ending is predictable, the audiences aren’t as disappointed for the film not to end that way because they became so absorbed into the movie. It is a definite must-watch movie for a date or just with friends.