Friends with Benefits

Much better than No Strings Attached, but it's also no prize. The whole thing follows a typical template from beginning to end. Far more sympathetic and believable than the main protagonists were almost all of the supporting characters, undoubtedly the best of which was the perfect Woody Harrelson. The guy is just divine. I also expected it to be even funnier, even though the gag with the mobile app to identify "women's days" is perfect. (09/23/2011)

Will Gluck is completing a hat trick of excellent romantic comedies. He's not afraid of more vulgar words, daring scenes, and excellent pop culture references, and he nails it. At the moment, he's still at the top with a minus sign, but he already feels at home in the genre. He doesn't let up in the rhythm of jokes, and his romantic declarations come naturally to him (see the underrated Easy A). And when those jokes are salted with chemistry-infused dialogues performed perfectly by Justin and Mila, audience satisfaction is at its peak. Despite being the least thematically distinctive work by Gluck, it paradoxically excels in technical aspects and pace. I also enjoy the weaker 90%. (09/25/2011)

Who would have thought that a no-strings-attached relationship between Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake would be more spontaneous, likable and earnest than the same sort of fling between Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher (No Strings Attached)? (09/21/2011)

There is a little bit of life in there, and it's fluffed up by the skillful screenwriter into a very effective dialogue whirlwind. Unfortunately, at the end, the film is hurt by exactly what it had been making fun of for more than two-thirds of its runtime, i.e., the tired clichés of all romantic films far and wide. However, thanks to the great actors, it reminded me that even men have a delicate sensitive soul that can be touched sometimes. :) [The bad thing is that the only significant impression I have the day after watching it is Mila Kunis’ absolutely luxurious character.] (01/18/2012)

The non-violent banter between Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis is unusually charming and authentic, and it exudes an unbelievably positive energy that the main characters cleverly spice up with an unprecedented pack of spicy dialogues and clever linguistic tricks. And as long as it successfully suppresses all those generic romcoms of the past decade, everything is fine. Unfortunately, inevitably, there has to be a resolution and in the last act and suddenly we find ourselves a step lower, that is, in the category of a quality romantic comedy that fails to offer anything extra and does not embellish the constantly evolving genre in any way. (07/20/2015)