Friends with Benefits - a romance comedy with a twist...

Rating: 7/10 (2 September 2011)

Friends with Benefits is a movie that I can watch over and over again, though the first time is always best. Yes it's a rom-com but it's not your usual predictable "happily ever after." The two characters: Jamie and Dylan (played by Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake) each get dumped by their partners at the beginning of the movie for being "emotionally damaged" (Jamie) and "emotionally unavailable" (Dylan). Kunis's character plays a headhunter working on behalf of GQ magazine to attract Dylan who is a web designer that runs a successful blog back in LA. He thinks his life is pretty perfect until he meets Jamie and decides to take the job after she gives him a sneak peak of life in NYC. The two demonstrate that people often elude true love for fear of getting their emotions trampled upon. It just goes to show that beauty, success, brains and money do not protect you from getting hurt and it happens to the best of us.
They pledge to both "lock off" their feelings (just like George Clooney) and have a casual "friends with benefits" relationship until they end up falling for each other. There's a realistic plot and the tension that occurs near the end of the movie, leads to a climax that couldn't be sweeter and can be described as a modern day fairytale. One of my long time favourite actors Woody Harrelson played a super funny character that offered some pearls of wisdom to Dylan. It also has a certain seriousness to it as it gives a glimpse of what living with Alzheimer's disease is like and also how broken (single parent) homes can affect a person's future relationships. Timberlake and Kunis had great on screen chemistry that made for a realistic film which however should be taken with a grain of salt. With a little help from his Dad and the "flash mob" Dylan is able to open his heart and allow love in and Jamie is able to "live out" her favourite movie. The film ends with a beginning – Jamie and Dylan's first date as a real couple. The only thing missing was the horse and carriage, which was in fact present, but the writers allowed a funny twist that made it even more real.
The movie can be best summarized by my favourite line by Woody Harrelson's character, Tommy: "It's not who you want to spend Friday night withit's who you want to spend all day Saturday with."
I give this movie 7 stars!!!