***SPOILER ALERT***
Plot: C
This movie is a romantic comedy, so lets face it, the plot is typical and predictable, but I thought I’d give it a shot. I thought that poking fun at other romantic comedies was kind of hypocritical. The first half was funnier and more entertaining than the second half. I didn’t notice during the trailer that it was set in New York, so it was nice seeing Grand Central Station, Central Park and Time Square.
The movie starts out with Jamie (Mila Kunis) and Dylan (Justin Timberlake) characters going through a break up (which I thought was pretty funny). Jamie becomes ‘emotionally damaged’ and Dylan becomes ‘emotionally unavailable’. It wasn’t really explained very much beyond the break ups.
Here’s the exact plot if you didn’t already figure it out:
Jamie meets Dylan. They decide to be friends with benefits (on the iPad Bible App). Things are going great. Hurtful things are said. There’s a falling out. They make up in a cliché way.
I would have to say that my favourite part was when Jamie was at the airport about to pick Dylan up; when she was on the luggage carousel trying to grab her makeshift sign written in lipstick. I thought it was funny and fresh.
The storyline had good flow, but when something new was being introduced, it was a bit jumpy. Situations that came up (for example: Dylan’s stutters, fear of heights, the fathers Alzheimer, ect.) were underwritten and not well incorporated.
Lastly, the flash mob bit at the very end in GCS was SO predictable. It was foreshadowed when we saw it the first time in Time Square.
I thought it was funny that they created a romantic comedy within this movie that included Jason Segel and Rashida Jones.
Script: B
The dialogue was very modern. It was more entertaining in the first half when Jamie and Dylan were actually friends with benefits, compared to the second half in which they did start having feelings for each other. The screenplay was the best part of this movie, but there wasn’t a particular line of conversation that really stood out.
Acting: C+
Mila’s acting was good, but she really didn’t have much to work with.
Justin seems out of place at times and some parts seemed very forced. He was okay, but I thought his best role to date was The Social Network. The character itself was all over the place: he was a nerdy (a Harry Potter fan), a bit feminine (people thinking he’s gay), smart (an up-and-coming blogger), and good looking.
Woody Harrelson as Tommy was good. I think he is a solid actor. I wish he had more screen time.
Jamie’s mom, Lorna (Patricia Clarkson) played her role very well, but the character was annoying.
I really didn’t see any point of having Shaun White in the movie.
Richard Jenkins as Dylan’s dad was great in his role, but I though that this character was kind of useless and it could have been cut out entirely. It seemed as if they only added this character to add a bit of emotion to the plot and so he could say something like “don’t ever let the one you love get away” and to ‘teach’ Dylan to be more accepting of his dads Alzheimer (the pants).
Jenna Elfman did a good job with her role as Annie, Dylan’s sister. Their sibling relationship did seem genuine, and I liked how Dylan called her ‘Annie Bananie’.
I really hope that I wasn’t the only person that thought that all the scenes with Dylan’s nephew Sam were boring as hell and unnecessary. The mishaps with his magic tricks (fire and coffee leak) weren’t even funny.
Overall: C
An IMDB reviewer stated, “Friends with benefit has nothing new or better to offer”. I defiantly agree; it’s defiantly not laugh out loud funny, barley got a few chuckles; for the most part, I had a grin on my face. I liked how it had a contemporary setting and used lingo and slang that we hear today. Mila and Justin were a good pair, the rest of the cast was good too; the actual characters though were a bit dull. The plot was average, and the subplots weren’t well developed.
