Same old formula with a different garnish!

Rating: 4/10 (28 February 2011)

'No Strings Attached' is a rehash of a concept beaten down to pulp a zillion times in Hollywood. Countless movies have played upon the theme of a couple starting off on a strictly physical relationship but end up in love.
Adam (Ashton Kutcher) and Emma (Natalie Portman) play old friends who bump into each other in Los Angeles and exchange numbers. While Adam works on a TV show and is an aspiring screenwriter, Emma works as a resident in a local hospital.
On a drunken night after having found that his ex-girlfriend has hooked up with his father, Adam calls up every girl on his phone seeking the obvious. The next morning, he finds himself at Emma's apartment. Emma, who doesn't believe in relationships, has a proposition for him: to use each other as 'friends with benefits'.
Interestingly, there is film titled 'Friends with Benefits' starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis set to release this year. So much so for rehashed concepts.
While the arrangement works well in the beginning, Adam starts taking more interest in Emma, especially getting jealous when he sees her with a fellow resident. Obviously, she doesn't like it. Nevertheless, the audience is never told the reason for her aversion to relationships. Instead, it tries to thrive by bringing in some comedy.
After things seem to start getting mushy, the couple part ways. But, it doesn't take too long for Emma to feel for Adam either. Then, when Adam attempts to hang out with other girls, Emma barges in and drives the girls away.
While these flicks have worked in the past culminating in a romantic ending, it gets too hackneyed. Just having different faces and a different location doesn't really work. Either they had to be too emotional or plain funny; and this falls in between.
You may not regret watching this on a lazy Sunday on TV when you are flipping through channels. But, taking pains to see it on big screen is a no-no.