Friends With Benefits

I so liked this movie... it was truly entertaining and exceeded my expectations.  It is very rare that I really and truly like romantic comedies, rom-coms, or chick flicks as this genre is so often referred to.  But this one is pretty good.  There are only a handful out there that I can actually watch over and over again, one of them being "You've Got Mail," (I so adore that movie).  Anyhow, this one was a little fresh and original.  It is truly the tale that raises the questions can friends become intimate and remain friends, is that truly the best idea to move a a relationship out of the friend category and turn it into something else? This movie tackles this question.


Meet Dylan Harper (Justin Timberlake), a young creative, whom is pursued for a potential job at GQ by headhunter Jamie Rellis (Mila Kunis).  Her main goal is to convince him to move to New York from Los Angeles to take a Art Director position at the magazine.  She tries to seal the deal with showing him all there is to love about the city of New York.  She does her job and he is convinced to take the new position.  But Dylan is without a support system and friends and immediately Jamie fills the void.  She becomes his confidant and support system as he grows in his position and adjusts to the city of New York.


Here's when things get a little sticky, they both just ended relationships because they are both considered "damaged" and not necessarily looking to begin a new relationship with anyone else, but they both admit to missing sex.  They make a pact and decide to enter a purely physical and sexual relationship to fill their need and maintain their friendship so things do not get complicated.  But the question is this, it is already complicated, right?  So how do they make out? Well it is a romantic comedy which means there is some sort of predictability in this genre, so I will leave that to your imagination.


There are some laughs, some tender moments, and all highlighted with a great supporting cast including, Woody Harrelson, Patricia Clarkson, Richard Jenkins, Jenna Elfman, Andy Samberg, and Emma Stone.  


If you like romantic comedies, it is one of those must sees.

I give it an 8 out of 10.

Next up is HBO movie "Game Change."