Portman Elevates a Formulaic Rom-Com with Provocative Possibilities

Rating: 7/10 (23 January 2011)

When actresses of a certain caliber and age reach a certain level of potential bankability and critical respect, it appears inevitable that they do a standard-issue Hollywood romantic comedy. Talent becomes a less critical factor in these casting selections. Early last year, Amy Adams did one between "Doubt" and "The Fighter", a silly one set in Ireland called "Leap Year", and now it's Natalie Portman's turn. This 2011 film has a more provocative premise and a snappier tone, but the sensibilities are still very much in rom-com territory. As written by first-time screenwriter Elizabeth Meriwether and directed by industry veteran Ivan Reitman (whose last film was the overdone "My Super Ex-Girlfriend"), the movie deftly asks a less than earth-shattering question: can two friends sustain a commitment-free sexual relationship without any emotional expectations? In an age when text messaging makes anyone instantly available, the answer naturally looks to be yes, but Hollywood convention intervenes.
Set conveniently in LA, the plot centers on the friendship between Emma, an overworked medical resident, and Adam, an overlooked production assistant on a "High School Musical"-type show who longs to be a writer. Moving fleetly from summer camp to a frat party to an accidental run-in at an outdoor market, they definitely have a connection but never act upon it. In the meantime, their personalities take shape as adults nearing thirty. She is an unromantic pragmatist who has convinced herself that she doesn't need a relationship to have sex, while he is a pushover whose airheaded girlfriend dumps him for his father, a self-infatuated former sitcom TV celebrity. After an all-night drunken binge lands a naked Adam in Emma's apartment, she proposes they take advantage of their mutual attraction and start a purely physical relationship with no expectation of commitment. She's in charge, and he agrees to play along. Needless to say, both start to have feelings that pull them in predictable directions with Adam also dealing with his unresolved anger toward his father. There is no real tension to the central dilemma since we all know how the movie will end, especially with stars as attractive and laid-back as Portman and Ashton Kutcher playing the leads.
What I do like is how Portman doesn't subterfuge her own sensibilities as an actress to play Emma within formula. She plays a workaholic but on her terms as a sensible professional who needs to manage her schedule carefully. Unlike rom-com contemporaries like Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway or Kristin Bell, Portman comes across as too smart to go through much humiliating shtick to get her inevitable comeuppance beyond devouring a box of donut holes. Even though Kutcher has more experience in this genre, he comes across a bit more substantive this time around and shows a natural rapport with Portman that makes the movie breeze along with aplomb. A solid supporting cast helps with Greta Gerwig ("Greenberg") and Mindy Kaling ("The Office") as Emma's sharp-tongued roommates; Lake Bell ("It's Complicated") as Adam's dithering, sweet-natured associate; Jake Johnson and a low-key Ludicrous as his horndog buddies; and Kevin Kline as his vainglorious father. I didn't even recognize Cary Elwes as the veteran doctor whom Emma fawns over. Special mention should go to Rogier Stoffers whose bright-colored cinematography brings contemporary LA to vivid life.