When Justin Met Mila . . .

Rating: Null/10 (1 August 2011)

It is difficult to believe that talented "Easy A" writer & director Will Gluck had anything to do with this shallow as well as satiric romantic comedy about a loquacious couple who tumble in the sack but shun wearing their feelings on the their respective sleeves. You'd think that these youngsters were the first who preferred sex without sentiment. Each of these commitment-leery lovers has been through the wringer in a previous relationship that left them with nothing but bad vibes and the desire to never succumb so such sadness again. Sexy Mila Kunis plays a single but sexually active corporate headhunter named Jamie who recruits Los Angeles-based website editor Dylan (Justin Timberlake of "The Social Network") to be the new art director opening at GQ magazine. Predictably, not only does Dylan take this dream job, but he also bundles up with Jamie in bed in an R-rated movie that lacks both steam and momentum. You will find about as much meaningful nudity here as you might find in an issue of Maxim magazine. The entire plot revolves around their relationship after coitus and the ups and downs that they endure before Gluck and scenarists Keith Merryman and David A. Newman bring the leads full circle in Grand Central Station in the Big Apple. Just to add some sparkle to the shenanigans we are treated to Patricia Clarkson cast as the liberated mom of our heroine who raves about the 1970s and Woody Harrelson as Tommy an openly gay sports writer. "Saturday Night Live" fans will recognize Andy Samberg breaking up with Mila in an opening gambit while Emma Stone ditches Timberlake. Probably the slickest thing that Gluck pulls off is his surprising cross-cutting between the guys and the gals in this scene. Initially, we assume that Mila and Jamie are breaking up until we see that it is two couples. Richard Jenkins injects some heavy-handed gravitas as Jamie's Alzheimer's addled father who steals every scene in which he appears. Gluck tries his best (or worst) to skewer the conventions of romantic comedies, but he only winds up skewering himself. Mind you, Mila has some nice-looking skin and Justin has a washboard belly to die-for if you're into looking physically fit. Unfortunately, good looks, great chemistry, and rapid-fire dialogue delivery cannot overcome the one cliché after another. Altogether, if you have not seen "When Harry Met Sally," watch "When Harry Met Sally after you see "Friends with Benefits."