Fun, Modern Romantic Comedy

Rating: Null/10 (27 August 2011)

I am a little surprised by some of the negative reviews posted here about this movie. What did these people think they were going to see, Shakespeare? Ibsen? Shaw? Come on people, it is a romantic comedy, and a pretty good one at that. Clichéd? Uhhh, a romantic comedy is one big cliché. Did anyone really think that ... SPOILER ALERT... they weren't going to end up together at the end of the film???? If she died, or he got hit by a bus, it would be a drama or tragedy, not a rom-com. The two stars showed surprising chemistry in this film. Mila Kunis was articulate, funny, adorable, heck I fell in love with her. Plus she really has a flare for comedic timing. If you compare this film to its ugly 2011 clone 'No Strings Attached', you start to wonder if the wrong actress from 'Black Swan' got the awards. Justin Timberlake was equally effective. I bought these two as a couple. The rest of the cast was certainly up to the task. Patricia Clarkson seems to be getting type-cast as the kooky mother, and Richard Jenkins was good as the Alzheimer suffering, but endearing father. Woody Harrelson turned his 5 minutes of screen time into another over-the-top performance. Over all, this is a slight, fun, modern (plenty of swearing) romantic comedy, filled with enough cultural references that it will feel dated in 10 years. It doesn't pretend to be high art, and you shouldn't judge it that way either.