Friends with Benefits

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)

The combination of the beautiful Mila and the likeable Justin is incredibly great. At times (often, actually) they looked really charming together. And Justin Timberlake finally showed that he can act. The whole plot is engaging and full of fresh jokes and situations. It didn't lack naturalness and flair. Unexpectedly, it also beats Kutcher and Portman for me. I'm tempted to overrate it for the sake of cuteness alone; 4.5 stars. (01/08/2012)

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)

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)

I was secretly hoping for someone to finally bring a new angle to the romantic comedy genre, but I was disappointed yet again. The filmmakers slavishly copied the established format. Apart from a decent cast, there was practically nothing to be excited about. Actually, there was something. I was glad that there wasn’t too much pathos to wade through at the end. I was also surprised that there weren’t that many funny moments; I would expect some given that it was a comedy. (03/03/2018)