Friends with Benefits (2011)

Director Will Gluck, who brought us Easy A, last year. Brings us a movie that at one point was going to be called "Fuck Buddies." Good luck marketing that. It was actually in production around the same time as No Strings Attached which features Natalie Portman who was paired up with Mila Kunis in Black Swan. Just a little interesting that co-stars of a film with 5 Oscar nominations was in the process of an ad campaign for a film where the stars were working on two separate and similar films.

So the film is about a young hot shot website designer [Justin Timberlake] who is contacted by a headhunter [Mila Kunis] to take a job in New York. Dylan seems happy in LA, but with some convincing from Jamie he takes the job. He works for GQ where Woody Harrelson plays a pretty funny sports writer that questions Dylan's sexual preference. Jamie is Dylan's only friend in the city and their "work" relationship turns into a friendship with "benefits." Trying to avoid a romantic relationship their emotions start to play a factor and we learn that Dylan has commitment issues.

Pretty typical to have a guy with commitment issues, which is why I liked No Strings Attached a little more. In retrospect I'm not exactly sure when No Strings didn't get an 8/10. Either way, the flash mob scenes are pretty cute, there are some good running jokes, and Timberlake proves once again he can handle the shift from singer to actor. Probably worth your time if you like Rom-Com's.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1632708/

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